The Dean's List.
From a field of 100 admissions consulting firms, only those earning an overall editorial score of 90.0 or higher are inscribed here. It is not another ranking. It is the line separating the highly rated from the truly rare.
Official register · Overall score of 90.0 and above
Top 100
A distinction that cannot become ordinary.
The Dean's List is not capped at a predetermined number. It is governed by one demanding threshold. A firm is included only when its complete weighted evaluation reaches 90.0.
Only nine firms qualified.
Ninety-one of the Top 100 remained below the line. Inclusion therefore represents the highest nine percent of the evaluated field in 2026.
The rarest tier in the rankingThe line is fixed.
A recognizable name or high rank alone is not enough. The overall score must begin with a nine.
No discretionary additionsThe review is multidimensional.
Outcomes, development, expertise, access, services, reputation, innovation, and value all contribute.
Weighted editorial evaluationRead down the list.
Close is distinguished. Above the line is different.
The ninth and final firm on the 2026 Dean's List earned 90.1. The next firm in the Top 100 earned 89.6. That half-point separates inclusion from recognition elsewhere in the ranking.
Explore the complete Top 100 ↗Prestige follows the score—not the other way around.
The designation is derived from the same published evaluation model used for the overall Top 100. No firm can purchase placement, and no separate application is accepted.
Evaluate the full field
All 100 firms are reviewed within the same weighted framework and assigned an overall editorial score.
Apply one threshold
Every firm at 90.0 or above enters the class. Every firm below 90.0 remains outside it.
Reconstitute annually
The Dean's List is not permanent. Each yearly edition is rebuilt from the current ranking and evidence record.
To be ranked is notable. To be named is rare.
The Dean's List gives families a focused view of the firms operating in the ranking's most exclusive performance tier.