Some Thoughts on the Recent US News & World Reports College Rankings

Fall has come early this year in the Northeast.  Hurricane Irene swept through without regard for beaches, baseball games or biking trips, leaving a wake of power outages and debris that we weren’t ready for.  As the dust settles and we pick up the pieces, one constant that keeps us centered is the annual arrival of the US News & World Report ranking of universities and colleges.  It doesn’t matter how many natural disasters hit us, nothing stops the annual rankings and the ensuing discussions about whose alma maters were ranked the highest and how to get our children into the top schools. 

This annual rite can have a higher purpose than simply providing bragging rights.  Does it really matter to most parents and their high school children the order in which the Ivies  land versus last year?  If a particular school drops in the rankings, does that mean you shouldn’t apply there?  I don’t think so.  Although these rankings can help people decide  to which schools they may want to apply, there is a lot more to be gained from them by digging deeper into the data and by understanding what’s behind the rankings. 

It may be a surprise to learn that much of the data are self-reported by the schools themselves.  They are asked questions in seven different categories that are weighted as follows: academic reputation (22.5%), student retention (20%), faculty resources (20%), student selectivity (15%), financial resources (10%), graduation rate (7.5%) and alumni giving (5%).  Most people assume that the rankings focus mostly on academic reputation while surprisingly this factor makes up less than a quarter of the results.  One could argue that some of the other factors listed should be weighted higher.  I tend to look at some of the factors beyond academic reputation when considering a list of schools for each individual student.   For example, alumni giving may be a better indicator of how happy a student might be at a particular school than student selectivity.

By digging deeper into the rankings, you can create a list of colleges that may be appropriate for you and your child to investigate.  You can take that cluster, see how their total score was tabulated and compare these to your own criteria for your college search.  It is important to know that the US News & World Report rankings do not cover all the criteria you should consider in deciding where to apply.  The rankings do not take into consideration endowments, available financial aid, and the most popular majors, but this information can be obtained from the US News & World Report website.  Other factors that are not provided but should be looked at include student body diversification, faculty strength in specific areas of study, research and internship opportunities, and graduate school and job placement after graduation.  Getting this type of information takes more work.  Good places to start include schools’ websites, guidance counselors and educational consultants.  

It takes a full toolbox to select and apply to the schools that will be the best fits for your child.  The US News & World Report ranking should not be the only tool you use.  The combination of these rankings, some personal investigation and advice from others will result in the best outcomes for you and your child.  

As you look at the rankings this year (and you know you will), try seeing it as only one of the tools available to you.  When you use it in combination with the other tools mentioned above, you can have confidence that the schools you choose will be ones that will build the best foundation for future success.

This post was written by Deborah Grabfield, the founder and President of ApplyYourself, a consulting firm which works with high school students from both public and private schools. She provides her clients help in selecting colleges, creating profiles, writing essays, interviewing and meeting deadlines.

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