re: The Best *Public* Schools in the U.S.

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Niche is not as well-known as U.S. News or Forbes. Because its rankings are not as prestigious or referenced, they have much less of an impact on the reputations of different colleges. Additionally, because Niche uses many more factors in its rankings, it's likely to use criteria that don't matter to you in a college.

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Niche rankings are based on the overall experience at traditional 4-year colleges and universities. Here's how Niche determines their "best colleges" rankings: 

40% for academics and grades, which includes things like acceptance rates and student and alumni responses about a school's academics

27.5% for value, which includes average student loan amounts and alumni salaries

7.5% for professors, which considers student-to-faculty ratios and faculty awards

5% for campus, which is the quality of campus accommodations and facilities 

5% for diversity, like the ethnic composition of the campus, the international student body percentage, and how many out-of-state students attend the school

5% for student life, which factors in things like safety, diversity, and athletics 

5% to student surveys on overall experience

2.5% to the local area, including location, rent, crime rates, and local amenities

2.5% to safety, including the campus crime rate and health/safety services on campus 

Additionally, Niche incorporates survey responses from students regarding the quality of academics at their college and statistics and survey responses about diversity on campus to determine the academics grade. Student survey responses are factored into the score a school receives for each category listed above.

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