<p>Forbes, in competition with US News and World Report, has come out with their own striking list of the best colleges.</p>
<p>link: America's</a> Best Colleges - Forbes.com</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon comes in between Stetson University and St. Mary's University at the rank of 266 out of 569.</p>
<p>ROFL, ranking fail.</p>
<p>Brought questions on this already:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/758731-americas-best-colleges-how-accurate-ranking.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/758731-americas-best-colleges-how-accurate-ranking.html</a></p>
<p>those ranking look so off! and i mean all of them</p>
<p>I can understand the rankings cuz the CMU endowment is not that large due to it’s recent foundation…</p>
<p>I really think that ranking is BS. CMU is too famous and has such a high starting salary for grads to be ranked that low.
Or maybe I’m just in denial as an incoming Freshman.</p>
<p>I (like everyone else) at least pays lip service to the idea that rankings don’t or shouldn’t mean anything. But if nothing else they have an effect on our reputation.</p>
<p>I think this ranking is a bunch of ********. Let’s be serious here, California Lutheran University is ranked higher than us? Georgetown is at like 75? Georgetown is behind us in USNWR.</p>
<p>Although, out of maturity I have to say I shouldn’t and really don’t care (beyond the obvious implication that I care this may have a negative impact on our reputation). Just because our rank is low on Forbes’ little system won’t take any education away from us.</p>
<p>USMA is good, but not THAT good academically. They have a fine engineering program, but I don’t think that’s enough to put you top 10. And Wabash and Centre are better than MIT?! WTH? It’s freaking MIT. CMU did indeed get screwed on this list.
I usually trust Forbes, but that list is bogus.</p>
<p>the rankings list is also months old… so rest assured people that cmu’s reputation is still perfectly intact. i mean, we still chose to attend…</p>
<p>Haha, it may be because of extreme bias, but I always do feel slighted when it comes to ranking CMU. Of course, I understand that we shouldn’t be above other schools for a “complete university,” as we can’t compete with their billions of endowment to fund obscure humanities. But come on, when I compare how much I learn and work with some of my friends at other universities, and then for someone to say that their school is better than mine (can you really compare colleges!?), I get a little defensive.</p>
<p>Here’s to CMU overtaking MIT in the rankings in thirty years, by hard work and maybe a little robotic force. Cheers.</p>
<p>Contrast that with the QS/London Times ranking where CMU is ranked [url=<a href=“http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/fullrankings/”>http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/fullrankings/</a>] # 21 in the world <a href=“#14%20in%20the%20US%20alone”>/url</a> and [url=<a href=“http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/subject_rankings/technology/”>http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/subject_rankings/technology/</a>] # 6 in the world <a href=“#%205%20in%20the%20US”>/url</a> in the specific technology (engineering and IT) ranking.</p>
<p>Let us not forget also the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index from Academic Analytics, where CMU is ranked top 5 in the US.</p>
<p>Also tied with Cornell for one year I think, meh, ratings are ratings. They’re important to some extent, but it’s best not to take them TOO seriously.</p>
<p>I’d hate to bring everyone’s spirits down but that link posted was from last year… here’s this years:</p>
<p>[America’s</a> Best Colleges - Forbes.com](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/94/colleges-09_Americas-Best-Colleges_Rank_11.html]America’s”>Forbes List Directory)</p>
<p>Apparently CMU dropped down a spot! :/</p>
<p>Wonder how many rankings list Cornell University in Ithaca about a hundred places below Cornell college in Iowa.</p>
<p>I dunno where Forbes is getting their information but most of the SUNY school/universities aren’t listed. So what, they don’t exist cause they don’t make your precious list? PLEASE!</p>
<p>This list is completely f***ed</p>
<p>ridiculously misleading ranking</p>
<p>Forbes? Mo like For’ what are they wasting my time? </p>
<p>Yeah…</p>
<p>Well, if you look at what they based their ratings on it all becomes much clearer. Their ranking system is pretty ridiculous. I’m a huge supporter of military academies, but ranking West Point #1? It makes perfect sense when you see some of the criteria: post graduate employment (military academies require you to go into the service-so 100% there), average level of debt (service academies are FREE), likelihood of graduation within 4 years (required to graduate within 4 years, even if your engineering degree has to be changed to general studies major) and 25% from rankmyprofessor.com? So if you find a college that is cheap, easy to graduate quickly (or required to do so) and kids rate their professors highly for whatever reason, then that’s a large part of the Forbes ranking system. I generally respect Forbes, but their college ranking system is just silly.</p>
<p>And I’m certain that CMU students will verify that CMU isn’t cheap or easy, so if that’s how they’re ranking colleges in this survey, be proud to be near the bottom!</p>