So many variables in all the ranking systems. I think the best way to use them is “common results”. I realize that is not scientific. If the same set of schools dominates virtually all of the rankings, you may want to check those schools out relative to your other criteria (location, course of study, size, cost, etc.) It seems it would make sense to start there and add or delete schools based on preference. You can make the argument that other schools belong on the list. FIne. You can also make the argument that the listed schools aren’t inferior to the non listed schools, so why not start there? You have to start somewhere.
We created our list based on many variables including the rankings. It boiled down to east coast, medium size (5-10k), defined campus with community feel (requirement to live on campus for some time), strong undergrad business school or economics program w fiance minor, D1 sports. From there it was about visiting and feel. Of course cost was a consideration and we had options ranging from low cost state school to mid cost private due to significant merit, to full cost OOS public at a top school, and full cost private. We opted for full cost private as we feel it will provide the best education , best opportunities, and best overall experience within the accepted school list.
@rickle1 Spending $51K a year in tuition vs $6.3K (UF) makes sense for your family, and I get that. You can afford it, and Wake Forest will provide far more resources and a wonderful educational experience. However, for the vast majority of high school seniors, paying full price at Wake is not an option. Neither would be going into significant debt (parents taking out loans, or pulling from retirement funds).
Luckily, Wake does offer some aid, especially to lower SES students, so it can possibly be an option.
However, if you’re only looking at outcomes (and not the experience), then it’s much harder to justify spending $200K in tuition vs $25K. Most Wake grads in Finance, for example, are not earning significantly more than the UF grad in the same job. And they do end up working for many of the same companies…
Using LinkedIn, Here’s the top employers for Wake Forest Alumni:
Number/Employer
1,175 Wake Forest University
303 EY
281 Wells Fargo
216 PwC
213 Deloitte
212 Wake Forest Baptist Health
209 Bank of America
191 BB&T
85 US Army
78 IBM
74 KPMG US
69 Morgan Stanley
65 Bank of America Merrill Lynch
For UF:
8,121 University of Florida
735 Lockheed Martin
639 Intel Corporation
615 Amazon
615 UF Health
529 Microsoft
517 IBM
516 PwC
512 EY
382 Deloitte
355 Citi
343 Google
333 Apple
308 Raymond James
214 Citrix
Back to the original question of Weighing Price vs Prestige.
The simply answer is that you want to attend the best school you can, based on what you and your family can reasonably afford. You have to define what is the best school for you, and what is affordable. Nothing wrong with taking on some debt, but you have to be prudent on how much to take on. “Prestige” plays a role, because it’s usually an indicator of other factors, like educational experience and job placement. However, like rickle1, you should research those factors when considering a school and try to go beyond simply prestige (or college rankings!).
Good Luck!