<p>I am not saying I agree with the quote, but it did grab my attention with this comment in the radio this morning when they mentioned the latest America's Top Colleges from Forbes. </p>
<p>I understand some people do not like college ranking discussion, but it is what it is. This new list looks rather interesting compared with that of last year from Forbes. By the way, UChicago is ranked #4 this year.</p>
<p>Well, yes, if you go by this list. After all, why would you waste your money on such mediocrity as #67 (Johns Hopkins) or #71 (WUSTL). And who would be caught dead at such crappy schools as #104 (Texas), #135 (Georgia Tech), or even #274 (Alabama).</p>
<p>What an elitist list. Guess we should expect that from Forbes. Other than service academies, no public school higher than 45. If you’re talking about “worth the money”, how is that possible? </p>
<p>Ridiculous list.</p>
<p>It’s possible because practically every ranking system implicitly measures colleges based on average results. So a college with very few, very elite students, a high percentage of whom have excellent achievement post-college – e.g., Williams – is going to look a lot better than a college with a huge range of students and a huge range of outcomes, including flunking out – i.e., every public university, more or less. I agree, it’s ridiculous to do that, but try to find a ranking methodology that doesn’t.</p>
<p>I’m curious to see how Forbes compiled data and came up with this ranking. Places like Dartmouth, Duke, and Hopkins are ranked way too low to pass the “eye test”. Northwestern also fell from #12 to #24…wild swings like that don’t really improve the credibility of any ranking system.</p>