<p>Susan: ditto for my kids.</p>
<p>Susan, mine too.</p>
<p>I think Ilovebasketball99's post with the rankings was a separate thread which he started that was then consolidated with this already consolidated thread, so that is why his post does not make sense in light of the discussion at this point. However, OrangeBlossom, me thinks Ilovebasketball99 is not a brand new poster but one who has come back under another name.</p>
<p>Momofthree and Idler, glad I'm not alone but knew I wasn't. I was just showing thumper that she was not either, lol. But from reading CC long enough, you almost would think we were very odd! I have been in awe on CC at how many really make decisions regarding rankings and pick apart the details to this degree. The only thing on those rankings articles that I think is worth much is that lots of data is in one place so if you want to find out a statistic on a certain school compared to another, such as "admit rates", it is in one handy place. But the rankings themselves do not mean a whole lot to me. Definitely not to my kids, nor were they even aware of them. It is such a contrast to the kinds of discussions that SOME kids on CC have regarding rankings and prestige and so forth. It has been an eye opener for me, to be sure.</p>
<p>Ah, the 2005 USNews rankings are out and the chest thumping begins anew as predictably as the lemmings annual suicidal race over the cliff(even if it was a Disney cinemagraphuc invention). And we wax philosophically as to what it all means.</p>
<p>I submit that it has little more meaning than an National Enquirer popularity poll about Jennifer and Brad.</p>
<p>There is too much hard data available which literally blow howitzer sized holes in the USNews ranking or any other ranking for that matter.</p>
<p>I know, I know, Harvard College grads are very likely to lead very successful post graduate lives. But why should that be of any particular surprise when many come from highly influential families and almost all of their students come from the cream of the crop academically. </p>
<p>The more valid question to ask is how "successful" would any particular Harvard College be if educated at, say, Denison College. Low and behold just such a study was done and, you guessed it, it just doesn't matter a statistical bit!! What matters is the abilities and dedication of the individual student. What a revelation.</p>
<p>I am not saying that Harvard College or any other "first tier" universities are not wonderful places to spend 4 years of one's life. They are! However the USNews ranking, insofar as it claims to provide an indicator of relative academic quality does not hold water.</p>
<p>I have witnessed this first had as both a student and as an academic. The undergraduate education that I received at Ohio State served me every bit as well as the ones my grad school mates at Cornell received. The same has applied to the graduates of my department who have gone on to either grad school or professional life. The best students have typically been very successful.</p>
<p>Soozievt gets it. Students should be freed from the ranking straight-jacket and encouraged to find those colleges which suit them. For some it may be a particular academic program. For others a location. For yet others a predominant campus culture. For yet others the aesthetics of the campus. For most some combination of these. However if that college happens to be the University of Rochester rather than Yale or Kalamazoo College rather than Swarthmore, I say good for them.</p>
<p>Just do it. And whoosh, I'm outta here.</p>
<p>original, I think a lot of people share your feelings.</p>
<p>However, it's not so easy for everyone to dismiss it. We have to deal with parents, students, and alumni who pay attention to it, who ask questions about it, who form judgments based on it. It's not that only a few of you wiser ones 'get it' or that the rest of us embrace the straightjacket. It's that where the rubber meets the road it actually affects some colleges and the people who work and study there. It's a pity, but it's true.</p>
<p>It seems to me that the US News rankings issue has much useful information compiled in an accessible format; too bad they are compelled to rank. I recall that the year my D chose her colleges her copy was positively dog-eared, but the rankings had nothing to do with her decision. She wanted to know the data presented, like class-sizes, and read the articles and descriptive sections, but that was all that mattered. S1 never spent any time with the magazine at all, and I had discovered CC by then, so rarely used it. On the advice of Carolyn I did buy the big edition, the US News Ultimate College guide, which is very helpful in assessing the likelihood of getting aid. But rankings? Who needs 'em?</p>
<p>Mattmom--Bowdoin does not require SAT scores in applications, but all students are required to submit scores before enrolling. Therefore, average SAT does include all students.</p>