<p>The rankings will continue to dominate the college application culture as long as the competitive culture in this country continues. How many of us send our kids on the playing field, the marching band field, the debate stage, the spelling bee, etc and say…hey…don’t worry about this…being last is as good as first!! No, we send them out, telling them to do their best, yet for those of us that are honest, we hope they excel at what they are giving their time too. We hate to see hard work yield a “last” place. </p>
<p>We see it here day in and day out…“I am upset about my kid’s results”, “rejections”, “how can I get into school A but not B”, “why did school C wait list me?” Are the ranking legitimate? Probably not, but they are publicized, sold and splashed on all the admission websites across the country. The colleges make them matter. “Come to college #1!!” Which is basically saying, “Why settle for #2”. Just my 2 cents.</p>