<p>In The Huffington Post, of course. It's about time. I remember when I was younger, people referred to U.S. News and World Report as "Useless News and World Distort." The first time I heard it, I nearly busted a gut laughing. Today folks on CC, parents and students, seem to consider it the Bible of college prestige.</p>
<p>Anyway, I say it's about time because I don't understand how one can rank let's say Grinnell or Middlebury higher than say Wesleyan or Oberlin. Why is Colby ranked higher than Macalester? I don't see much of a difference in test scores and such. Endowment? The other schools aren't exactly impoverished. How the heck does one determine that one flagship state U should be ranked higher than another? Why is Penn State ranked higher than Ohio State or the U of Minnesota? Why? </p>
<p>For private schools, it seems that all it takes is a bunch of rich people giving money to raise the ranking, which some consider an indication of prestige and even academic quality, even though no one can prove anything. Is there really a difference in academic quality between, say, Yale and U. of Miami? How do you prove it? Because more famous people went to Yale (who didn't play football) than U of Miami? Or is it because a lot of rich people send their kids to Yale, preserving perceptions of superiority, which just perpetuates a cycle of perception that one is better than the other? What if all the blue bloods started sending their kids to private schools like U. of Miami or public schools like OSU and Yale took whatever was left over. I have a feeling U. of Miami would overnight be considered more prestigious.</p>
<p>Here's the article: Colleges</a> Rebel Against U.S. News Rankings</p>
<p>There will always be rankings. The important thing is to know how to use them. Perception becomes reality. It is well-accepted that there is one school in the top 20 national universities ranking that is there solely because they figured out how to game the rankings.</p>
<p>It seems to me that wherever the rich and famous send their kids that’s where you find “prestige.” The question is, does the dog wag the tail or the reverse?</p>
<p>I don’t know much about U. of Miami, but I do know that academics at Yale are absolutely first rate.</p>
<p>^
I agree. But what makes it first rate? Are academics better at Yale than the U of Miami or Susquehanna University? What makes them better? The students who attend? The faculty? The library? What if the entire Yale faculty switched places with the faculty at Kutztown State U? Then which school would offer the superior academic experience? Which school would you send your child to? </p>
<p>Think about it. If the faculty is not determinative then our children would get just as good an education at Yale, even with every class taught by Kutztown State professors, correct? But if the faculty is the most important factor, we should send our kids to Kutztown State after all the Yale professors switch places with their counterparts at Kutztown State, right?</p>
<p>The faculty, the libraries, the residential college system (yes, I do believe that it contributes to Yale’s overall atmosphere of excellence). Transfer it all to Kutztown State U and it too stands a chance at delivering a first-rate academic experience. (But you’d still have to travel to New Haven for Pepe’s pizza!)</p>
<p>I think Plainsman makes excellent points, but as a Yalie, believe CB is correct in saying it is not just the prestige or the rich kids (and that Pepe’s is special).</p>
<p>Prestigious univesities vary, but some really are much better for graduate studnets than undergrads, because the professors go through the motions with undergrads.</p>
<p>Has anyone seen the Forbes rankings? They are absolutely ridiculous. Penn at 63ish.</p>
<p>I saw that ranking
Penn at 61 and Oberlin at 51…
i don’t know what to tell you…</p>
<p>and Sally’s Apizza!
But the Feve is pretty special too…
Nowadays, there is great faculty at a wide variety of colleges, maybe even Kutztown. But there is no doubt that Yale’s is particularly outstanding in a wide range of fields.<br>
Oberlin’s faculty is great too. Mostly, as relevant here, they are really different kinds of undergraduate experiences and it is a matter of the best fit for the individual students.</p>
<p>Even if US News & World Report or Forbes could go to college, their own rankings fail to give us a good idea of which is their best choice of college, let alone provide any comprehensible information to potential applicants (all of whom have their own unique interests, gifts and aspirations) as to where they should go.</p>
<p>It’s interesting to see all the comparisons and to see your favorite college’s name get props (or, for that matter, dissed)…so it’s not the least bit surprising to me that these things sell. But as a decision making tool they’re useless. It’s like reading TeenBeat or People magazine to find out who the best actors are. I don’t think central casting refers to these magazine as resources when faced with a specific movie to cast…and, as long as nobody making important decisions (be it something with lifelong importance, such as choosing colleges or something of less consequence like receiving the Palm D’or or bringing in viewers to the box office) uses them as decision tools, the gossip in all of these publications is just harmless, inane fun (even when presented as though it’s compiled by some objective, quantifiable measure).</p>