College Rankings...Love 'em or Hate 'em?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>As I've searched this website, I've noticed a lot of conflicting ideas about college rankings. Some think it's a great way to narrow down colleges while others think it's a big waste of time. </p>

<p>I personally think that it's an okay thing to look at in the beginnning of your college search to see what is out there and what type of school you would like to go to. However, they should not be your only resource. You and only you know what you like, so you have to find a place that has everything you value.</p>

<p>But that's just my opinion...I want to hear yours!</p>

2

<p>I like empirical rankings, and I think they are important to consider - however, it is important to make sure you are looking at relevant rankings. For example, don't look at a ranking with a graduate focus when you are considering undergrad, etc.</p>

3

<p>I don't hate them or love them - we just didn't use them. We felt that our own research coupled with what my s wanted in a college provided a much more relevant list of schools.</p>

4

<p>babydoll- I not only like them, I think they are necessary; without them, too many people would be prone to simply accept the messages and images that the colleges themselves put out about themselves, and as we all know, every institution tells the world that it is just great! So rankings (and accompanying statistical categories) as well as word of mouth, personal visits and interviews, etc., can be looked at as simply an laternative (independent) source of information to consider. Not the gospel, but good to have</p>

5

<p>Rankings are great -- for what they rank. </p>

<p>It's important info to know which school has better, say, financial aid, but it doesn't mean it's the "best."</p>

6

<p>I love em! They were a huge factor as to what universities/colleges I applied.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
I love em! They were a huge factor as to what universities/colleges I applied.

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</p>

<p>That's pathetic to say the least.</p>

8

<p>That's pathetic to say the least.</p>

<p>Whatever, I got accepted into a top 15 school, so oh well. I had good grades so I applied to the top schools. I was fortunate enough that I was interested in the top schools (Brown and Cornell) before I saw the rankings anyways. </p>

<p>If it's pathetic then why comment on it?</p>

9

<p>Think about it Mr. Elitist Scorpio...</p>

10

<p>I AM A MISSES.</p>

<p>Brown-interested in it since they sent me brochues in 11th grade. I didn't even know it was an ivy until 12th grade.</p>

<p>Cornell- Interested in since 11th grade when the valedictorian went there.</p>

<p>Suny Binghamton/Albany/Stony Brook- Great state schools, have the EOP program, affordable, close to home.</p>

<p>UNC-Chapel Hill- Great school, change of scenery, nationally ranked, have relatives there with whom I could have probably lived.</p>

<p>Yale- It's Yale, who doesn't love it? Loved the undergrad focus and the location, while dangerous, is reminiscent of mine.</p>

<p>Columbia- My dream school for a lonnnggg time. Perfect, controversial, beautiful! </p>

<p>Oneonta I only applied to as a safety. Harvard, I admit, I applied to it because of the name and because it would change my world.</p>

<p>So yes, I was interested in 8 of the 10 schools before and I luckily, most are top-rated in their fields. Yes, I admit, prestige is important to me, especially because of where I live. I want children in my poor, HIV ridden neighborhood (highest HIV rate in the COUNTRY) to realize that big things are possible if you work really hard.</p>

<p>So yes, I am elitist, but what is wrong with that? I don't shun other people who don't go to top schools. Getting into college is difficult enough as it is!</p>

<p>Also, when I took quizzes that suggested colleges I might be intersted in, I got results for some of the schools to which I applied!</p>

11

<p>I didn't apply based on rankings, but I did apply to schools based on which wants had the best rates of professional school and elite company recruitment...there is a pretty strong correlation with US News report for that.</p>

<p>Once I got into the schools I wanted out of the top 15-20 ranked ones I applied to, I narrowed it down by fit since most of them where in the same academic/prestige level.</p>

12

<p>A mistake is to think that relatively small differences in the rankings are meaningful. #15 is really not very different from #25, but I have seen CCers claiming those were meaningful. Another mistake is to treat them as the only way to assess schools which may be coupled with not questioning or examining the components that went into the rankings</p>

13

<p>Certainly useful as a starting point, but no substitute for more in-depth research, campus visit, conversations with existing students, faculty, etc. A good ranking doesn't necessarily equal a good fit.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]

15 is really not very different from #25, but I have seen CCers claiming those were meaningful.

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<p>i would assert that if you look at the rankings, there are three distinct tiers:</p>

<p>25th-16th</p>

<p>15th-~8th</p>

<p>~7th-1st</p>

<p>although i might put the top three (HYP) in a category all to their own</p>

15

<p>Yeah, how about outside of the top 25-30? You're certainly not looking at minimum wage jobs if you go to a top 50 or even top 100 school...Who gives a damn if it's a top 25-30? It's a number.</p>

16

<p>I disagree with elsijfdl. There are thousands of colleges in the US and drawing distinctions among the top -- via rankings -- is not meaningful. On the other hand, you could distinguish those colleges based on location, culture/fit, particular departments, approaches to education, and other factors.</p>

<p>Even with much lower ranked schools, the rankings do not tell the tale. USNWR rankings provide one particular constructed metric, a metric which is questionable at best.</p>

17

<p>i was speaking of tiers contained only within the top 25, which i would assert is then itself a hypernymous tier</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
Even with much lower ranked schools, the rankings do not tell the tale. USNWR rankings provide one particular constructed metric, a metric which is questionable at best.

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</p>

<p>and here i would have to now disagree with you, "IQ" scores of students, financial resources, graduation rate, etc. are all things that are highly correlated, and also that one would strongly associate with, a quality university.</p>

<p>not to mention that the business and academic worlds favor students in a manner that is strongly correlated to rankings, and thus these statistics.</p>

19

<p>Some rankings are a complete sham, such as USNWR's. They change the formula just so one of HYP is always on top! Rankings are just glorified viewbooks of the schools on them. Just because a college is ranked 70th, that doesn't mean I would fit in better at a school ranked 20th.</p>

20

<p>The problem with ranking schools is that you aren't ranking similar schools. Big schools near big cities have different opportunities than smaller schools in more rural areas. Schools that have been around for hundreds of years have a larger alumni base than a school around 50 years old. Students apply to some schools based on "name prestige" but that prestige is actually related to the graduate programs. And then you are missing the whole idea of fit. If school 298 is a great fit for you but it doesn't carry the prestige does it make it bad? There are over 3000 schools in the US alone. And think about it this way, if you are a 2.5 GPA student at a top ranked school does that make you more marketable than a 3.8 GPA student at a lower ranked school? They are teaching the same things.</p>