Nathaniel Rosen '13 calls on Cornell to lead the way and facilitate reform to ranking systems for higher education. 

Cornell increased its early decision acceptance rate by about two percent from last year.

The NRC released a comprehensive set of rankings for graduate schools across the United States. 

Already providing the third-most Teach for America volunteers, the University’s graduates continue to flock in droves to the public sector. The University sent 46 volunteers into the Peace Corps in 2009, more than any other Ivy League institution, according to statistics released by the agency last Thursday.

The recession has forced the hand of the University into implementing budget cuts, reducing staff and axing various programs. But despite the rough economy, other universities, both nationally and internationally, have been forced to cope with these same pressures.

The annual U.S. News and World Report rankings, which grade the nation’s top universities, always elicit a flurry of excitement from students and administrators wondering how their respective schools stack up. The most recent batch of rankings for 2010 — released at the end of August — named Cornell the nation’s 15th best university, representing a one spot drop from last year and a three spot drop from two years ago.

Cornell has jumped around dramatically in recent years, garnering as high as sixth place in 1998, before which Cornell was ranked number 14.

In the standings, Cornell also ranked sixth in economic diversity, ninth for its undergraduate engineering program and 10th for best undergraduate business program.

Editor’s Note: This article refers to 2009 rankings. New rankings are expected to come from U.S. News and World Report in late August.

Another school year begins, and with it the questions: How do I stack up? Where do I fit in? What does he or she think of me? And it’s not only the new freshman faces asking. With the release of yet another onslaught of college rankings, ranging from the traditional U.S. News and World Report to the “irreverent” standings of Radar Magazine, concerns expressed by the Cornell community indicate that the University, itself, is asking similar questions.