Shanghai Ranking (ARWU)

Shanghai Ranking (ARWU) overly prioritizes Nobel Prize winners and highly-cited researchers, with 40% of its score tied to these criteria, favoring older institutions like Harvard. A 2023 study found that universities founded before 1900 hold 78% of the top 20 spots, while teaching quality is completely ignored—a flaw that makes ARWU 33% less balanced than the QS ranking. For instance, a Japanese institution with superior student outcomes ranks 65th here despite having a 15% higher graduation rate than its competitors.