"Does Being at the Top of the Rankings Help Colleges?" (USNews)

Parents Forum
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What is the nature of these benefits to colleges, and are they significant? According to the paper, appearing on the "front page" decreases a school's acceptance rate by 3.6 percentage points and results in a 2.3 percentage point increase in the proportion of students in the top 10 percent of their high school class. The "front page" effect was not significant for the average SAT scores, amounting to a 1.2 percentage point increase. From our end, all these changes are very small and would not have any impact on a school's standing in the Best Colleges rankings. I do wonder about the reliability of a statistical analysis that says it can accurately take into account all the factors that affect year-to-year admissions and can isolate the effect of the Best Colleges rankings.

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The paper's conclusion that liberal arts colleges are not benefiting from their top-tier rankings and that prospective students and their parents are more influenced by factors other than the rankings is 100 percent counter to the statements of the presidents and admission deans from some liberal arts colleges. They have criticized the U.S. News college rankings as too influential in admissions decisions.

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<p>Does</a> Being at the Top of the Rankings Help Colleges? - Morse Code: Inside the College Rankings (usnews.com)</p>

<p>Interesting article...I know anecdotal evidence isn't very scientific and all but this makes sense...I'm applying to mostly liberal arts colleges (colleges no one in my family has heard of - I'm a first generation student from a working class family, so they've literally never heard of any LACs) because I prefer the smaller class sizes and the attention by the faculty (rather being taught in giant lectures by TAs) and rankings have had very little to do with my college search (though I've been worried about employment prospects). On the other hand, some of my friends are literally using the US News list to compile their college list.</p>

<p>(My username is just a predicted result...I mean, that's where I'll probably end up)</p>

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<p>Your own sense of what you need and want is definitely your best guide. The USNWR rankings are interesting but not statistically sound in any meaningful way that should determine such an important personal decision. It always make me sad when I hear about kids or (even more likely) parents who pin huge expectations on these kinds of rankings or (even worse) believe there is some kind of guarantee of life success (or risk if you go to school #35 vs 24----or 93 vs. 124). There are way too many important moderating variables at work in this process. The books with rankings can help you sort schools into categories of interest or find some descriptive information–but then you should put them away and pay attention to studying the school as an anthropologist would so you understand the culture and values of the place and can decide if it is a fit for you–and affordable.</p>

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<p>usnwr is in the business of selling rankings. As such, part of their job is to sell the idea that their rankings are accurate. fair, and the best out there.
But job 1 of their sales pitch is convincing people of the very idea that ranking colleges is valid.</p>