Most competitive colleges are influenced by US News and the common data set, etc. That is doubtlessly why classes at Williams College, usually #1 in US News, are capped at weird numbers like 19 and won’t let in a 20th student. That keeps class sizes within the lower size bands that are reported!
Is the difference between 19 students and 20 students a bit arbitrary and probably driven by rankings? No doubt. But that does not mean it is not lovely and to students’ benefit to have lots of nice, small, discussion-oriented classes.
But students looking to narrow the field of colleges need to pick some way to do so, so if obvious ranking-consciousness truly bothers a family, it’s as legitimate as any other reason in this thread for moving a college down the list! Just keep in mind that more colleges may be ranking-conscious than just those who are most transparent about it.
It’s really interesting to cross check lists. Northeastern is ranked 182 by Forbes but #40 by USNWR https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/#50a5f85d1987
Northeastern is notorious for trying to move up in the rakings but obviously lag behind on the Forbes list.
Different ranking methodologies. Forbes also includes LACs.
People don’t generally ask college administrators about their Forbes ranking, nor do most HS students consult it when making their college lists. USNWR reigns supreme, until people stop caring about it.
It has to do with how Forbes ranks 4 year graduation rates. Since NEU has co-ops many undergrads don’t technically graduate in 4 years. There was an article in the Boston Globe about it.
Maybe the moral is to not blindly use rankings, and their components such as admit rates, as criteria for deciding on a school. My D’s #1 choice happened to be the highest ranked on her college shortlist, but her #2 and #3 choices were ranked below a couple of others on that list - and to return to the subject of this thread, that was her ranking after visiting (and dropping some higher ranked colleges off the long list after visiting).
@kanfly Forbes uses the 4 year graduation rate. Their methodology indicates this and the effect that it has on schools like Northeastern and Drexel due to coop.
Interesting discussion about ratings and the manipulation of ratings - maybe this should be its own string/subject - making it easier to find and participate in that topic.
Enjoying reading about direct comments about visits and why your child crossed the college of their list and assists with my own discussions with my teens. Very helpful to get them talking and realizing it is okay to not like a school for various reasons - even school colors.
I guess the college search is dramatically different depending on where you live. If you live in the Northeast or Midwest there are just so many hundreds of schools within a day’s drive that you need some way to sort them out before exploring in person. And for that rankings are useful.
We are in the Pacific Northwest and D21 wants to stay in the northwest or maybe California so that automatically limits the field down to where rankings are completely unnecessary. We just have one or two or three of each category of school and they are all really different so no outside rankings are really necessary. There are no elite private universities in the Northwest such as a Stanford, Chicago, Vanderbilt, or Washington U. So you have to leave the region if you want that. But we have at least one of every other type of school but no more than three of any one type. So it is pretty easy to sort.
Moderator’s Note:
Please remember the topic of the thread is Schools that moved off, up or down on your list. If posters want a discussion on rankings and methodologies there are other threads on that topic (or you can start a new one).
Thank you
For my D20 Goucher moved up (eventually to the top) after visiting. She thought the pictures were pretty but was already set on other choices, but the campus visit to Goucher completely changed her mind. She fell in love with the dorms, the food, the library, and the kind people. She didn’t even like their dance classes the best of all the schools she visited (dance major), but she said it was where she’d be happiest if dance went away, so that won because you just never know.
remained the same: Sacred Heart University. visited the campus last Fall with D21, there was a ton of construction going on and the visit seemed to cater to their nursing program. We just sat through their virtual tour/admissions info session.
Admissions counselor sat in front of camera and presented 30 minutes worth of information about the college and various programs. Ended with 4 or 5 live chat questions being answered. Basically steered everyone (7 people were watching) toward website for photos, videos and additional info.
We sat through several sessions.
Moved up:
Lafayette College. They did a whole day of virtual tours, including a faculty panel and a virtual live tour. They are very enthusiastic about their school and it shined through.
Wake Forest. Although they didn’t have a virtual session, the video on the website was incredibly well done and informative.
Claremont McKenna. We visited the end of December so not a lot going on but it was very personable and it felt like a good fit.
Colgate. Again, this one took us by surprise and moved toward the top of the list.
Stayed the same:
Emory. Was toward the top of his list. Visited in January. Liked the campus, the people etc…
Richmond. We did the virtual tour and couldn’t really get a feel for the school’s vibe.
Miami OH. They did a nice virtual session and it was what we expected.
Moved down: Occidental College. This feels like a specific type of student and would not be a fit for my S21.
I saw C of C twice. The first time (2014) I was not impressed. It felt like 80% the school’s presentation consisted of talking about the frivolous aspects of C of C: how great it was to be near the beach, the good shopping in Charleston, the nice weather, etc., with the last 20% about the substantive aspects, such as academics, facilities, internships, and study abroad. By the time they arrived at the last 20% they had lost us, and being from out of the area we didn’t have the experiences of current families to counteract the idea that C of C was a school for kids who weren’t serious about their studies. Older daughter was turned off.
Four years later I returned with my younger child, and wow, what a difference. They had totally revamped the admissions experience, stressing the opportunities C of C provides-academics, jobs and internships in Charleston, special programs and majors. We came away excited about the College, and it became one of my child’s top choices.
We did a masked self-tour of Lehigh! Going stir crazy locked up, so drove out just to have something to do! D21 added it to her reach list with Colgate - very similar vibe -hilly, beautiful old stone buildings. There were a few students around - all Asian so we assumed unable to vacate when everything closed - so hard to get the full vibe. The area of Bethlehem it’s in leaves a lot to be desired, but campus is nice enough for us to try to get back out there when it opens (it’s close, so that’s possible).
@Publisher, They were both the pre-tour general admissions presentation, so it was an apples to apples comparison. The second time we went they had a nice slide show as we were waiting for the live presentation. It showed different graduates and all the great things they were doing. One thing I especially liked was that they gave the majors in a way that showed that your major didn’t determine your future, e.g., the math major who’s now a well-known musician, the philosophy major who’s a chief of surgery, etc.