The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the nation’s 98th-best university overall and 46th-best public university, U.S. News & World Report has decided.

Surprising? Nah. Not much has changed since last year, when the popular but controversial rankings put UNL 98th —the second tier of universities — nationwide and 45th among public schools.

Nor has much changed in the reaction of UNL’s chancellor, who’s never been known to put much stock in such lists.

“I’m not an enthusiast for rankings,” Chancellor Harvey Perlman said Thursday. “That said, I’m pleased with where we are.”

In the Midwestern universities-master’s category, Creighton University again topped the list, and Doane College in Crete slipped from No. 21 to No. 23. Concordia University was 37th, the University of Nebraska at Kearney was 65th and the University of Nebraska at Omaha was 70th.

Creighton placed fourth in the graduation rate and “best values” categories. Doane was No. 6 in best values, up from No. 7 last year.

In the overall list, UNL is in a seven-way tie for 98th, with schools like the University of Arizona and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Princeton, Harvard and Yale universities make up the top three. (Again.)

U.S. News magazines containing the full lists will hit newsstands Monday.

According to the rankings, UNL had a 63 percent graduation rate and 75 percent acceptance rate. Princeton, by comparison, had an 11 percent acceptance rate.

As a public university, UNL must accept all applicants who meet its admissions standards; Princeton and other private schools have no such obligation.

Furthermore, the rankings do not take into account student experiences or undergraduate research, both areas UNL excels in, officials said.

All those factors make the rankings a bit dubious in their eyes.

“It keeps us focused on national indicators, but there are dozens of factors to look at,” said Bill Nunez, director of UNL’s Institutional Research and Planning. “Things like research — we’ve made huge progress there.”

Added Perlman: “(The rankings are) certainly not scientific. They don’t reflect the scope of the university.”

Other Nebraska schools that cracked the lists:

* Nebraska Wesleyan University remained in the third tier among liberal arts colleges. Hastings College was in the fourth tier.

* In the Midwestern universities-master’s list, Wayne State College is in the third tier; Bellevue University and Chadron and Peru state colleges are in the fourth tier.

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.

How UNL’s peers fared

Here’s where the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 10 peers fell in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of the best national universities:

41. University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

57. Ohio State University

64. (tie) Purdue University, University of Iowa

67. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

77. University of Colorado-Boulder

81. Iowa State University

88. (tie) University of Kansas, University of Missouri-Columbia

98. UNL

124. Colorado State University