Just toured the College of Wooster. I loved the campus and their buildings. Every student that I interacted with was very excited to talk about the school and how well they were enjoying their experience.
I felt their school and science programs were on par with many of LACs that I visited that are ranked in the 30-40s by US News. But Wooster is ranked #69.
I know that college ranking are high subjective, but I guess that am worried that there may be some major drawback or red flag with this school that I may be missing.
I think their admission competitiveness is lower - but iâve heard nothing but great things from people here in TN.
I know they are well known for research.
If itâs the right fit, including finances, I wouldnât hesitate.
But Iâll say this too - find out student outcomes and compare to others.
When I got my MBA in the late 90s, at the time Indiana was ranked 7th, Texas 17th, and the school I attended 40th.
Turns out, IU had an average salary $2K higher than my school. IU was placing people in Chicago. My school was placing people in a lower cost of living town. And I had no shortage of offers when I graduated.
Lists are fine to give you an initial guide. But itâs your gut that matters most - after all you need to spend four years there, day after day after day.
And if itâs helpful at all, Niche rates it 59th - so you already gained 10 spots. The colleges around it - CT, Rollins, Kalamazoo - are also very good.
#6 Senior Capstone (Tie with MIT, ranked above Stanford)
It is important to figure out what you are interested in and if the schools you like are strong in those areas. If you are interested in the quality of undergraduate teaching, research opportunities, want to do a Senior Capstone project and are looking for a SLAC, Wooster is punching way above its overall ranking.
If you are looking for âname-brandâ prestige/widespread name recognition, an overall wealthier student body or highly competitive sports programs then Wooster probably wonât be on your short list.
Edited to Add: I also hope seeing how rankings can be pretty disparate within sub-categories helps people understand that in many ways, the rankings are fairly arbitrary. US News created a system to rank schools and many people believe that there is a significant difference between the #10 school and the #69 school. There many well be differences, but those differences arenât whether you will get an excellent education, they are all about the different missions and focuses of those schools.
When did #69 on a list of some of the most selective colleges in the country become a low ranking? Theyâre right there with some other very good schools like Beloit, Bard, Hobart, and Lewis & Clark.
Like I said in the op, I just wanted to make sure there werenât any red flags with the school. There isnât a lot of information on reddit or other sites about Wooster, so I wanted to check here.
What ranking service was that? I donât think Indiana (Kelly) has ever broken the top 20 or been ahead of Texas (McCombs) in the US News Rankings, particularly in the late 90âs per attached below.
Thanks for that. Pretty amazing the disparity between the two. Not even close to one another seemingly.
Helps make the argument for the OP that in hindsight rankings are so subjective they should be largely ignored. Particularly over longer periods of time.
These rankings are a scam. Look up all the research and info Malcom Gladwell has done regarding this. He has several really good podcasts where he dives deep into the stats and how the system is totally manipulated.
malcolm gladwell?? yeeks.
anyway, gladwell is a fatuous nitwit, and usnwr is THE list.
wooster is lower than williams and swat because wooster is no top studentâs top choice.
but that doesnât mean itâs not good or anything.
You could be a presidential speech writer. âNattering nabobs of negativityâ is my favorite phrase from a presidential speech, crafted by a speech writer who was himself a fatuous nitwit and who later mounted a failed run for the presidency himself.
Our D is finalizing her decision in the sciences between Wooster and Lawrence.
While they may not reach the highest combined USNWR rankings, both are near the top with regards to Undergraduate Teaching - CoW at #27 and Lawrence at #44.
Additionally COW is #8 with regards to Undergraduate Research (incl. both Universities and LACâs) - tied with Amherst, with Princeton and Stanford at #7.
Furthermore, both are in the top 40 Universities and LACâs with regards to % of students that receive STEM PhDs - Lawrence is #17 and CoW is #33, with schools such as Harvard at #16, Princeton #18, and MIT #32.
Honestly, I donât think you need to justify it. Both are fine schools. And most importantly, if one works for your student, thatâs the most important thing.
I hope one stands out as you go through the process.
Our D attended Accepted Students Day last week at CoW. CoW did an amazing job of presenting the campus - stunning, the learning environment - challenging and supportive, the students - diverse and supportive. For our D, sheâll be attending CoW studying biology - she said she felt proud when she walked the campus.
My D just completed her first year at CoW. She LOVED it. We are coming from western Canada, and we looked at many many schools during the fall of 2019 (right before the pandemic). Oberlin was on our list, and we travelled to Ohio for that⊠I thought we should give Wooster a look too. She was blown away by Wooster and dropped Oberlin off the list- for many good reasons. CoWâs attention to their students, the quality of the education, the fabulous student body, the IS, and the gorgeous campus⊠while the distance is a haul for us, I am thrilled with the school. I was concerned about rankings, but the quality of students is impressive, and many go on to very fine post graduate programs. I couldnât be happier with the choice, and CoW has taken a risk with the IS- itâs not for everyone, and as such, it may not be a draw for every student, and students may have a greater tendency to transfer when they get to the pushâŠthis may affect their rankings (just by sheer data/quantitative stats). CoW has gotten many great reviews recently and it has a long history of excellence- I am a huge fan!
