Do you think it greatly effects where students apply to? Or do you think that most people already know where they are applying and it confirms their decision?
<p>I don't really know. All I know is a think it's a load of crap. Any changes that happen are made just to stir things up and make more people buy it. Do you really think a school changes that much in a year? It doesn't. I have never bought USNWR and I never will.</p>
<p>They rank by alumni donations and graduation rate...that's retarded. BTW, MIT, Caltech, and Stanford are BETTER schools than UPenn. I mean, what the f*** is that???!?!??!?!?!</p>
<p>And Duke doesn't belong there either.</p>
<p>It obviously does, these boards have gone to complete **** because everyone can't get enough of those ****ing rankings.</p>
<p>people are like omg leigh can you believe it! my school dropped 1 rank omg! :mad:</p>
<p>My school dropped two spots. I'm thinking about taking a year off and reapplying.</p>
<p>And everyone thinks they can make better rankings, as shown in this thread. I'm really thinking about writing a really long rant, but it'd be completely pointless. . .much like the rankings.</p>
<p>yes I feel your pain. I want to write a super long rant but I'd get flamed like crazy and it would achive nothing. Garr... :mad:</p>
<p>Whatever you think of the rankings, they DO have an effect on the application process.</p>
<p>not for me. I couldn't tell you anything about what's what. I don't let it affect my decisions</p>
<p>
[quote]
They rank by alumni donations and graduation rate...that's retarded. BTW, MIT, Caltech, and Stanford are BETTER schools than UPenn. I mean, what the f*** is that???!?!??!?!?!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Um. Not really. Penn is amazing. It depends on the person. That's a pretty ignorant statement.</p>
<p>Oh and yeah. I do think the rankings are mainly bs. I'd say they give an <em>indication</em> but very slight. I wouldn't take them too seriously. :)</p>
<p>I'd say that the rankings are fairly accurate - a margin of error of, say, +/- 75 or so</p>
<p>The rankings don't mean much, but the statistical data that accompanies them can tell you something about the school.</p>
<p>Even the statistical data can be interpreted different ways. Historically, USNews has given schools a boost if they graduated more of their entering freshmen (adjusted for quality of incoming class). This might mean the school is "adding value" by graduating more than the predicted percentage. It also might mean that the school is offering a less rigorous curriculum or suffering from grade inflation. So, take even the stats with a grain of salt.</p>