[Pastor]

But that's only if you accept the methodology of US News rankings, which I don't.  No matter how high we rise in the football polls, we will never reach the stellar ranking of Stanford as an academic institution around the world.  Other universities may have strengths but none have the heft in all areas as does Stanford.  Yes, we have some weaknesses, not so strong in fine arts for example, but we are the preeminent university in the world.  Harvard, for example, has its strengths but no engineering and many departments low in their top tens.  Harvard lives off its past and much longer history but Stanford is the future.  Not just because of Silicon Valley either.

You have a right to be proud of Stanford and a silly survey that considers things like how much each student donates back to the university (hardly a measure of academic prowess) should make no difference.

[Pastor]

But that's only if you accept the methodology of US News rankings, which I don't.  No matter how high we rise in the football polls, we will never reach the stellar ranking of Stanford as an academic institution around the world.  Other universities may have strengths but none have the heft in all areas as does Stanford.  Yes, we have some weaknesses, not so strong in fine arts for example, but we are the preeminent university in the world.  Harvard, for example, has its strengths but no engineering and many departments low in their top tens.  Harvard lives off its past and much longer history but Stanford is the future.  Not just because of Silicon Valley either.

You have a right to be proud of Stanford and a silly survey that considers things like how much each student donates back to the university (hardly a measure of academic prowess) should make no difference.