<p>I've been reading student reviews and websites and while some say they enjoy the school, I find a large quantity of negative reviews with people complaining that they hate the school and the city that it is in. Should I be worried?</p>
<p>If the volume is high, I would consider it. You can sometimes tell when it is sort of sour grapes, though. Look at threads out here for a flavor for a college, read College P-R-O-W-L-E-R (without the dashes), read the Fiske Guide to Colleges for a sense of the college with less chance of outliers influencing the information.</p>
<p>I looked at it’s Niche ranking and it is in the bottom 10 percentile…that worries me.</p>
<p>I have been talking with an admissions counselor online. Would it be fair to bring up the schools ranking, or should I not bring this up with school personnel?</p>
<p>What can they say about it? Their job is to market the school and tell you the positive side. Your job is to get past the marketing message and try to figure out the real pros and cons of each school Every school has both. I don’t even know what Niche is… so no idea if it is going to be a valid source. Have you visited? That can help confirm or debunk comments you hear about a school.</p>
<p>Niche is College P-r-o-w-l-e-r .</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/techflash/2013/10/college-prowler-becomes-niche-and.html?page=all”>http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/techflash/2013/10/college-prowler-becomes-niche-and.html?page=all</a></p>
<p>Reviews are something to be considered, but more as a suggestion about what you should further investigate. Kind of like “trust but verify.” Also, make sure they’re recent, related to your major, and take with a grain of salt. Ditto for magazine college rankings. I wouldn’t mention reviews directly to an adcom, however. </p>