<p>Which list? and why are some so similar and others so different on some schools?</p>
<pre><code> Forbes/USNWR
</code></pre>
<p>UMich 93/28
UW-Madison 316/42
NU 11/12
Case West 263/38</p>
<p>And many more....</p>
<p>The methodology is so very different. If Forbes could find a more reliable way to measure success after college (pay scale/Who’s Who) then I would prefer it. I like hwo Forbes has been able to highlight some hidden gens (like Centre, Wabash, etc) in previous years. This is always an endless argument on CC and you are sure to get someone’s panties in a bunch.</p>
<p>I think the best use of a list that ranks is to just get a few ideas and start a conversation. There are far too many variables and subjective weights placed upon them to make any third-party’s ranking very useful. A student has to get to know him/herself, formulate realistic asperations and preferences and then build a unique list. If a student values the others’ opinions of the brand, then some of these list can be more useful.</p>
<p>I didn’t know (but should have suspected); someone DOES actually “rate the raters” :D</p>
<p>“U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, Kiplinger’s, and a few others have their own special recipe to pick the winners, and as frazzled parents and teens have found, their list results vary wildly. So which rankings are legit and how should you use them? To find out, MoneyWatch.com took a hard look at their methodology and rated the raters on a scale of one to five stars. We can only recommend one: Forbes’ America’s Best Colleges. Despite its limitations, it comes closest to actually measuring the quality of the education at the nation’s best schools.”</p>
<p>[Best</a> Colleges: The Real Rankings - CBS News](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505144_162-51345754/best-colleges-the-real-rankings/]Best”>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505144_162-51345754/best-colleges-the-real-rankings/)</p>