<p>I used this site quite a bit some 4 years ago when I was beginning the dreaded college process. I guess up until I applied, the whole super-competitive college admissions process hadn't really gotten to me. Senior year was a bit stressful, I'll admit, but my high school was pretty good about providing us with an excellent education without being cut-throat. So when it came time to apply to colleges, I really bought the whole "choose the right school for you, rankings don't matter at all" line. I still ended up at a top 10 university, mainly due to location and size, and really somewhat in spite of its ranking! In retrospect, it seems a little crazy the extent to which people emphasize this "go where you think you'll be happy" thing to high school seniors--who probably have no idea where they'll be happy. I just wanted to come back and post about why I actually believe in the rankings system a little bit, even after having it hammered into me that I shouldn't.</p>
<p>The rankings system is not completely arbitrary or wrong. There is definitely a relationship between the ranking and the intelligence of your fellow students, the professors' teaching ability, the difficulty level of your classes, etc. It is certainly possible to go to a mediocre school and do wonderful things with your life. However, for a kind of average, normal human being, this probably isn't gonna happen. If you are like me and tend to just go with the flow and do what your friends are doing, it is seriously beneficial to be around people who are going to do great things. The things that I love about my school include not just the classes but the general environment that I'm in. My friends challenge me to think more, to articulate my ideas, and to generally be a more intellectual person. Granted, there is not a precisely linear relationship between ranking and academic atmosphere, but I definitely think there's a correlation and its significant enough to make a difference. </p>
<p>I recently visited a friend who goes to one of the "Colleges that change lives." She is not completely happy at her school because we went to a very good high school and this school is really a notch down. Again, I think it's possible that it could change your life; college is what you make of it, but really her school is small, her professors are uninspiring at best, and I was completely shocked to discover this after all the hype about lower tier schools that are as good as if not better than top universities. I suppose as a high schooler I wasn't really the best at critical thinking. I believed whatever people I thought knew what they were talking about said often enough, but I think I would have liked to read a different opinion on the matter, so I'm posting this here now. I'm sure there are other colleges I could have had a good experience at... but I don't buy that I would have learned or grown as much at a lower tier school.</p>