THE COLLEGE RANKINGS... LOVE THEM OR HATE THEM

When prospective applicants talk about college “rankings,”
they’re usually not  only referring to all the official criteria provided to research collectors on the topic,  but to the wildly popular and  controversial  annual survey
published by the U.S. News & World Report.   

The U.S. News & World Report is published annually and hits newsstands in late August across America, and even the world.   This publication ranks universities and liberal arts colleges as separate categories according to measures such as acceptance rate,
student-faculty ratio, and alumni donations. The magazine plugs that data into a formula and then produces its famous lists of the top 50 schools.

On one side of the coin, this publication gives prestige and visibility to schools that already have prestige and visibility as a rule.. On the other side, the schools contend that colleges are far too diverse to lend themselves to rankings and that the magazine’s straightforward formula fails to capture the essence of good teaching and learning. Subsequently, Colleges and Universities across America  have learned to have a love-hate relationship with the rankings.

This year with serous budget cuts in California, the tuition at the UCs has gone up 35%, and at the CSUs.  Competition to get in these schools is keen.  It has come to the attention of both schools and Californians that looking out of state is a good idea, making California the fifth largest college market to many schools.

That said, make the U.S. News & World Report your jumping-off point for the schools that you want to look at.  Do your own research and soul-searching – but never make the statements made by this publication the final  word.

You should also approach the rankings with a similar attitude. Don’t apply to schools simply because of their rankings,  base it on what feels right.  Do your own research. See which names are unfamiliar and then read up on them. Check out the familiar names and see which criteria you really care about.  Take stock of your own interests and ambitions and pick schools to match and be open.  You might find the perfect school in one you have never heard of before