This is my first post so I apologize in advance if this is the wrong forum. My D wants to major in Athletic Training and has been accepted at several schools(Alabama, U of Iowa, U of Kansas, Oklahoma) so far. Is there a good website/tool or even a book that will compare how the programs at each school rank? I know those schools prepare kids for the certification after they graduate and can find stats on how many pass from each school the first time but am really looking for how the programs are.
As for any major I would do the following online research for each school. Look at the required and recommended courses. Look at available courses in the major. Look at requirements beyond the major. Look at how easy it is to be accepted in the major. I would also look at other majors in case she changes her mind. Consider the overall education, finances, social aspects. She may decide on the school that has a slightly lesser program, but still good, because of all of the other factors.
Try talking to current students in that major when you visit the schools. Also investigate the size of the major in terms of student numbers. Larger majors are more likely to get more support. Finally, I would investigate each schools placement success and salaries for students in this major. What are they actually doing after graduation?
Generally speaking, undergraduate programs aren’t ranked. There are a few areas in which undergrad programs are ranked against each other (like business and engineering) but there are a lot of really good reasons why they aren’t ranked. Undergrads change their minds so often about what they want to major in that it’s not a great idea to pick a university primarily or solely based on the major, but more importantly, selecting an undergrad school isn’t selecting a “program.” It’s selecting a college with a variety of attached experiences. Undergrads don’t live in their departments the way a grad student might; they’ll actually take most of their classes outside of the department.
What you want is not necessarily to rank the schools but rather compare opportunities amongst the schools in terms of classes offered, internships, alumni network, and post-college opportunities. A lot of that won’t be limited to the major and will sort of be a whole university kind of thing. One important thing to look at is whether students are able to get internships with the sports teams at the university, how common that is, and at what level they start to get those. Really good athletic training programs offer the advanced undergrads the opportunity to learn from professionals on staff on the Div I teams.