Our Methodology
Through a mix of research, interviews, and our judgement about what an education should look like, we evaluate each university according to seven distinct criteria, organized around the image of the menorah itself: eight candles, representing eight areas of assessment, aiming to illuminate what truly matters in choosing a college.
Some of these factors are uncontroversial, simple matters of fact. For instance, whether a school has an eruv, whether or not it has a program focused on great books and ideas, how it rates across various ranking websites, or the actions that administrators and faculty did or did not take during campus troubles after October 7.
Other factors are more open to controversy, such as the excellence of the faculty who teach Western civilization or Jewish studies. Here, we rely on our values and careful judgement, informed by long experience in education. We believe that, through careful research of faculty and curricula, we can give a better analysis of the quality of a program than is available anywhere else. There is no perfect substitute for stepping into the classroom yourself, but we have taken seriously our endeavor to supply the information that can help you choose which classrooms to step into.
When it comes to rabbinic leadership on campus, and the strength of the Jewish community, we have relied on a deep network of Jewish students. Thanks to interviews with observant students or recent graduates, we are able to offer an inside look at Jewish life on campus, including the distinct challenges facing observant or traditional students.
Our Criteria
Does this university have BA programs, honors programs, or independent academic units focused on the study of Western Civilization or American civics? Are there exceptional programs or departments in the humanities?
Does this university have excellent professors, courses, and programs on Jewish thought and civilization and on Israel and the modern Middle East?
Does this university have world-class faculty in the humanities and social sciences?
How strong is Jewish life on campus—including religious community, rabbinic leadership, kosher infrastructure, and pro-Israel engagement?
What intellectually serious clubs, publications, and organizations exist outside of the formal curriculum?
How did university leadership and community respond to campus events following the October 7th attacks? To what degree are the leadership and faculty friendly to scholars and teachers with plainly extreme views on Israel and the Jews?
How is this university represented in the broader rankings environment?
Where we look at the leadership of each college, we use the on-campus events following the attacks of October 7 as a lens through which to analyze them. This is for two reasons.
- First, the campus turmoil that began days after the attacks and reached a crescendo in Spring 2024 found its way into the discussions around nearly every Shabbat table in America. Families and students quite rightly wanted to know what was happening, and whether these colleges were still places that they could attend if they wanted an academic and social environment that wasn’t hostile to Jews. Our researchers have made detailed timelines of events, based on reported facts. These are dispassionate reports, separating fact from hysteria or hyperbole, so that families can come to their own conclusions.
- Second, the campus turmoil that flared up in 2023 and 2024 may have shone a very bright light on how parts of academic and campus culture had become morally inverted and obscene. For many of us who had already been engaged in education, this wasn’t news at all. What it was, however, was a flashpoint that brought out the worst impulses of the academy, in their strongest voice. So, when faculty and students were at their absolute worst behavior, how did the administrations respond? Did they waver and kowtow, or did they enforce the rules on the books and prevent the inmates from taking over the asylum?
