The US News & World Report Best Colleges 2022 rankings were recently released, which means I hear a lot about them in my work from students, parents, and colleagues. If you are conducting research of colleges, please don't rely on the rankings for your decisions about where to apply or where to attend. That's right: ignore the US News & World Report.
Nearly all of my colleagues in the world of college admissions consulting agree that the rankings have very little bearing, if any, on which schools will best serve students. Finding programs that are a good match for individual students involves many factors that just aren't represented in one score or rank. Most of my colleagues agree that the rankings' primary purpose is to keep a dying American publication from the 80's alive.
For the full story, look no further than Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History Podcast. In his episode, "Lord of the Rankings," he covers the origin and methodology of the rankings. You'll find that USN&WR relies heavily on the perceptions and opinions of college administrators in the community of academia and very little on actual measurable outcomes that are meaningful in the context of student success.
So when you open up a google search to find colleges, just scroll right past the rankings. Instead, use a college search engine like Big Future or CollegeData to find a list of schools by major, geographic location, cost, sports, etc. From that list, go directly to a school's website to find the major or program of interest. Read about the opportunities in that program, such as internships, study abroad, research, or extracurricular activities.
To get a sense of student success at a particular school, try using College Scorecard offered by the US Dept of Ed. With this tool you can compare graduation rates, freshman retention rates, and average salaries of students upon graduation.
Aside from academics, prospective students always want to know about student life. Websites like Niche or Unigo offer commentary from current students at colleges on important aspects of college life like school spirit, the party scene, sports, and diversity. Universities offer many videos to check out the campus and dorms. In the late summer and fall most admissions offices offer virtual information sessions, virtual tours, and college fairs to give students the opportunity to speak directly to knowledgeable representatives and current students. I also encourage students to follow colleges on social media to get frequent updates on the events and activities. Aside from actually visiting the campus, these are all excellent ways to find out if a college is a "good" school for you.
Yes, doing this much research takes a lot more time that simply checking a school's rank on USN&WR. But I think everyone would agree that applying to and choosing a college is a pivotal moment in a teen's life, and the process demands more reliable information than a simple ranking can provide.
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