The article provides a comparative analysis of the scientometric achievements of universities of the “5–100” group and the two leading universities of the country, Moscow State University and St Petersburg State University. Issues of linking the financing of higher education and scientometric achievements of educational institutions are considered. Particular attention is paid to qualitative indicators, in particular, publications in high-ranking journals. The fastest effect of promotion in ratings is achieved, among other things, using unscrupulous methods and techniques, which in the long run have serious reputational costs. The content of individual coefficients is disclosed, which it is advisable to use to compare the scientometric achievements of universities. A qualitative description of the comparative parameters in the field of scientometrics, the features of their calculation and interpretation, as well as a logical interpretation of the comparison results are given. The purpose of the study is to identify the most objective indicators for comparing the scientific value of the publication activity of university staff, which can later be used to comparatively characterize the effectiveness of universities in terms of promotion in international rankings. The most qualitative comparison is possible for a number of scientometric indicators, which are based on the division of publication sources into quartiles. The problem of “garbage” (“predatory”) journals is considered in the context of university ratings. The trends in higher education in terms of achieving the planned scientometric parameters are characterized, and new indicators are identified that can be used to obtain a reliable and verifiable qualimetric assessment of the “value” of the university or the scientific community. The indicator “fair citation” is introduced, which is supposed to be used to assess the quality of the published material.