<p>Does anyone have any idea when the 2008 version of the US Newsweek comes out? The graduate school ranking came out recently. when is the undergraduates out?</p>
<p>The rankings don't matter. No one in their right mind cares.</p>
<p>damn f'ing straight</p>
<p>i know that it's not a trustworthy source</p>
<p>just wondering</p>
<p>It comes out in August, as I recall. The rankings are helpful as a quick reference for stats about a gazillion colleges and as general validation of a school's worth, for those for whom that is a concern, but definitely don't become obsessed with prestige, which many people unfortunately do. Prestige can't make you happy by itself, and if you expect it to, you will be sorely, sorely disappointed.</p>
<p>I AM SO SICK OF US NEWS RANKINGS!!!!!!!! >:0</p>
<p>Seriously, they are pointless. If you are honestly trying to pick a school based on stuff like "% faculty who are full time" and "Avg. alumni giving rate," you have problems. Honestly, just go to a school you like. Obviously you have to use your brain, but choosing one school over another just because the almighty US News has it ranked 10 spots higher is ridiculous.</p>
<p>people say usnews is useless... not a lot of people, but those who do are very vocal, but i disagree, i think if you look at usnews it's a surprisingly accurate listing of approximately where universities stand in relation to one another, and schools generally come out exactly where you think they should be</p>
<p>August huh? hm a long wait</p>
<p>I'm not arguing with the actual rankings (as debatable as they are.) I'm arguing with the way people use them. There have been countless people on this forum who have said, "Well, School X is only ranked 50th, but School Y is ranked 35th, so I'm going to go to school School Y." You cannot base your decision merely on someone else's ranking. Just because a school is ranked higher does not mean you will be happier and more successful there. You have to find the right fit, and these rankings perpetuate the idea that finding the right college is all about statistics. In reality, rankings like these should make up, at most, 10% of your criteria for judging a college. Trust me, I know from experience that these rankings are vastly overvalued. If I were choosing a college all over again, I would completely ignore any and all rankings.</p>
<p>^^ yes i think the constant, rather large fluctuations are unnecessary (but you still can't help getting excited/depressed over your school rising/falling in them) but then again, those emotions are what sells magazines, and keeps it interesting.</p>
<p>it is kind of fun though to see what school wins the "stats war" this year</p>
<p>are what sell* magazines</p>
<p>It usually comes out around August 20th.</p>
<p>I like the fresh updates on tuition</p>
<p>my school's tuition went up 5% this year</p>
<p>I hope that my school went up in the rankings, either way I'm happy to go there. Sometimes, I think that people negatively criticize my school too much.</p>
<p>No what what anyone says, PRESTIGE DOES MATTER!! You need to make a good first impression.</p>
<p>i didn't care what number my school was, but i did use the list to get ideas for good schools to look at. honestly i did want something in the top 50 on the Universities or LACs list.</p>
<p>Middlebury is an EXCELLENT school @ gonzo.</p>
<p>US News rankings are like political polls. It is probably kinda good to ignore them. But other people are paying a LOT of attention to them, so everyone is still pulling for whomever or whatever or whichever school they want to do well, and reading them enthusiastically...</p>
<p>By the way, it's US News & World Report and Newsweek; each publishes their own rankings.</p>