Perhaps that it doesn’t seem to clearly relate to the context of Jessica’s comment, which I understand to be about prioritizing support for EA student groups at “top” universities. That decision seemingly has to be made on a university level, and—unless the university is particularly strong in a priority area—overall rating is probably the best measure.
Whether field-specific rating is a better measure in other contexts, and whether it is reasonably practical to use it in those contexts, is likely a case-by-case determination. I’d also note that in US undergraduate programs, admission is generally to the university as a whole allowing the student to select any major. I suspect your position is stronger where admission is to a specific program/department and thus the specific program’s reputation is relevant to the applicant characteristics needed to get in.
Perhaps that it doesn’t seem to clearly relate to the context of Jessica’s comment, which I understand to be about prioritizing support for EA student groups at “top” universities. That decision seemingly has to be made on a university level, and—unless the university is particularly strong in a priority area—overall rating is probably the best measure.
Whether field-specific rating is a better measure in other contexts, and whether it is reasonably practical to use it in those contexts, is likely a case-by-case determination. I’d also note that in US undergraduate programs, admission is generally to the university as a whole allowing the student to select any major. I suspect your position is stronger where admission is to a specific program/department and thus the specific program’s reputation is relevant to the applicant characteristics needed to get in.