<p>Forbes just released its annual rankings and Middlebury slipped out of the top 20. Between this and admissions applications dropping double digits this year does our alma mater have the wrong course set on its navigational system, so to speak? Amherst, Bowdoin, and Williams held firm in the top 20. This is disappointing.</p>
<p>I think one of the leading issues with a drop in applications was the newer format where students had to actually submit the application fee along with the pre-application before an application “counted.” </p>
<p>Also, on the surface one might look at the Forbes list and be concerned, but the methodology used in compiling these rankings is flawed at best, and compared to last year is not even the same.</p>
<p>[Methodology</a> - Forbes.com](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/02/best-colleges-methodology-opinions-ccap.html]Methodology”>Methodology)</p>
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<p>Most notably (and probably most likely to affect a school like Midd), is the debt ration thing - which they changed from 1/6th consideration to 20%. And if looking at websites like ratemyprofessor are considered when Midd has it’s own website for this service, the results of how Midd students rate their professors is completely flawed. I find the middkidd website to be far better representation of students and classes. </p>
<p>I couldn’t find last year’s list to compare, and while I don’t know about Bowdoin in this regard, both Williams and Amherst have a no loan policy in place. How long either school can sustain this will be seen, but Amherst’s financial situation isn’t on it’s best footing either. </p>
<p>End of the day, while I am sure Centre (#14) is a nice school, it’d be difficult to convince me it’s “better” academically and opportunity-wise than Middlebury. And look at it this way, when many of Midd’s students seem to also apply to schools like Dartmouth (at #98), you won’t convince me that BC is the better school at #16. </p>
<p>I’m just saying…</p>
<p>ADDENDUM: I tried to look up S’s Freshman seminar teacher on rate my professor and there were zero responses. Do the same thing on Middkidd and I could wade through the replies across the curriculum. (Happy to report that most are really happy with her)</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? Have you even looked at the Forbes ranking? I think one of their main criteria is using “Who’s Who” to judge the strength of undergraduate education.</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania is 83, Dartmouth is 98, Duke is 104, Georgetown is 106, Cornell is 207, and Centre College is…14.</p>
<p>Seriously? Get over it. By the way, I hope you didn’t create a new username just to ■■■■■ these boards.</p>
<p>While it’s nice to see Middlebury recognized in the rankings (as it is regularly), a “slip” within the top 25 is silly. When you’re within the top 25 there’s little difference in quality of education. Do you really believe that students at Bowdoin get a better education than they do at Midd? If this worries you, simply look at the USN&WR rankings. In those rankings Midd is ahead of many of the schools that it’s behind in Forbes. I can’t imagine that students at Pomona worry that they rank behind Midd in USN&WR. Rankings give you some indication of the quality of education at schools, but they do little to indicate fine degrees of difference between schools.</p>
<p>i’m with arcadia, here. it appears that Forbes has fallen into the same trap as USNews, of tweaking the bells and whistles within each year’s report, to make it look as if there has been movement from year to year. Too bad. It looked promising for a while.</p>
<p>Forbes is full of shiz. Look how it ranks other colleges–case in point.</p>
<p>And there’s nothing I hate more than shiz.</p>
<p>I find it amusing Steve’s alma mater is Princeton-- ranked # 1 in 2008 and #2 in 2009</p>
<p>I’d find it even more amusing if he went to Centre.</p>
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<p>LOL</p>
<p>Although Centre is amazing in the fact 85% of the students study abroad. And, if you’re a full pay, the total cost is 25-30% less than Midd, Bowdoin, Cornell, etcetera. Over four years that amounts to real money. ;)</p>
<p>Another year goes by, and another Forbes ranking posts and again we are disappointingly out of the top 25 “Top Colleges” let alone the top 40. We rank #42! We consistently trail Williams (#2), Amherst (#13), Bowdoin (#14), Wesleyan (#21), let alone mega- sized NESCAC member Tufts at #32. We know our school is good but why can’t we improve our standing? It is not simply a matter of flawed sampling, and suspect statistical analysis etc. etc. Over the long haul this may cost us qualified candidates in the application process at the margin.</p>
<p>^^I wouldn’t sweat it. Middlebury’s going to have an amazing year.</p>
<p>Where do people see applications down this past year at Midd? ED1 was down, but it was a record year at 8850, up from the past record of 8350 or so. The NYT had a blurb on its blog that it was down, then corrected it, but where do folks see apps down? Not the case.</p>
<p>Also: hard to reconcile the methodology when UPenn and Dartmouth, let along some others, are do low. Midd’s debt is less than Amherst’s now, so I doubt that is the methodological reason, unless Moda is saying the ratio of debt to overall assets is the issue.</p>
<p>But I would not worry too much about these rankings. It is indeed the quality of education students are receiving and the opportunities they have during their four years…and how well prepared they are to do their post-college thing.</p>
<p>^^The OP has bumped a three year-old thread; the drop occured three years agoand has since been walked back.</p>
<p>Thanks, JW — didn’t notice that. The oddities of many rankings within the list still persists and forces one to take this particular survey, too, with a grain of salt.</p>
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<p>If the Forbes ranking dissuades a prospective student from applying, they’re too dim-witted to attend Middlebury anyway.</p>
<p>And once again… where’s the “like” button?!!</p>
<p>Good point CrewDad however we always seek further geographic diversity in our student body. Hence, a few high school students from say the west coast or other areas outside of the Northeast who were not as familiar with our college may not see the school in the proper light. We may miss out on those students. So it really is not an issue of how intelligent they are obviously. This Forbes survey (as much as I would like to dismiss it) has an impact.</p>
<p>Bobo, I see your point and recognize your concern and overall, yes Forbes has an impact, but it’s minimal. Midd will still receive the same number of applicants. As many have already pointed out, several schools with greater name recognition than Midd are ranked well below our beloved school. This fact makes these rankings particularly egregious. Additionally, are we to believe the educational quality at Midd is half as good as it was just a couple of years ago? Don’t worry about rankings - good or bad - Middlebury continues to be one of the best academic institutions in the land. But there are at least 25 other schools of equal quality.</p>