Does USNWR Rankings Affect Your Top Choices?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Just curious-- for all of you that will be applying to college soon, does USNews rankings affect your preferences for a school? If so, how much? So for example, MIT and Dartmouth both dropped in the rankings---- but, does that make them less desirable? On the other hand both Brown and Penn rose in the rankings, does this make them more desirable? Just trying to understand how much USNews ACTUALLY affects things. </p>

<p>*Keep in mind these 1-2 rank drops/rises correspond in reality to Nothing.</p>

2

<p>No. /* I'm not dumb */</p>

3

<p>"So for example, MIT and Dartmouth both dropped in the rankings---- but, does that make them less desirable?"</p>

<p>If you are a fool, yes.</p>

4

<p>Ironically, it made Penn less desirable to me even though they're #5 (wth?).</p>

5

<p>Yes .</p>

6

<p>^ really? why? it's silly to think worse of schools because they dropped in the bullsh/<em>it</em>/it rankings.</p>

7

<p>I pray to God everyone's answer is "no."</p>

8

<p>It affected my applications process in that it caused me to look at several schools that I wouldn't have otherwise. Would I rather go to a school 3 spots ahead of another just because of that differential? No. But if all things were equal, would I rather go to a school that was 20 spots higher than another? Yes. But I would probably make that decision anyhow as many of the schools that are separated by such a distance have reason to be, and through research I'd find that out.</p>

<p>So, no, I did not base my decision off of rankings, but, yes, they did affect which schools I applied to through introduction.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
If you are a fool, yes.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>TITCR.....</p>

10

<p>it confirms mine...princeton
If princeton was 10th, it wouldn't change though.</p>

11

<p>It's more the fact that it beat harvard than anything else. Just because I know how ****ed off just about everyone at harvard is today.</p>

12

<p>^^ I don't think Harvard students care that much.</p>

<p>To the OP: no, it doesn't affect my top choices, in part because my top choices didn't change. =p But even then, the rankings don't affect how much I like a university. Berkeley is still my first choice, Stanford my second, etc.</p>

13

<p>No, unlike some of the clowns on this site</p>

<p>"OMG School X dropped 2 spots. How did their academics worsen in such a short period of time. Screw it Im going to School Y"</p>

14

<p>^ to be fair, I don't think I've ever seen someone on this site do that...lol</p>

15

<p>I dropped out of MIT to go to Penn</p>

16

<p>It's certainly an exaggeration; however, the number of individuals who have a hissy fit over a school going up or down -- specifically within the Top 10 -- in magazine aimed at selling copies, is laughable considering the academic difference is negligible.</p>

17

<p>In some countries that are less familiar with the landscape of US higher education, the rankings hold more weight, as they simply don't have much else to go on...</p>

18

<p>Obviously they play a part.</p>

<p>Even if I love a college theres a 0% chance of going there if its out of the top 100.</p>

<p>Obviously it should play a good part in EVERYONES decision, because I cant see how stupid someone would have to be not to care if its a good college or not.</p>

<p>Course I believe watching colleges move up or down a few spots is stupid, the fact its in the top ___ makes it all the same</p>

19

<p>^^ some people aren't concerned whether it's a "good college" by your standards or not. Their definition of "good" is different. For example, there are people here on CC who would love to attend San Francisco State, or San Diego State, or San Jose State. Do you see those in the top 100? Nope.</p>