College Rankings: What a bunch of………….
We all see the college rankings published by corporations, such as U.S. News and World Report, Princeton Review and many more. Are these fair and honest? Do they have the best information to rank a school? Are they influenced by money?
I cannot answer these questions, but I do know that I’d rather learn about a college from students, professors, and others who are ACTUALLY part of the college. It’s just like buying a TV. I want to take advice from people that have actually experienced what I’m looking for.
My college experience includes time at the University of Nevada-Reno, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Bellevue Community College, and Central Washington University (what can I say, I like school). Each of my experiences was completely different from the other. In the end, my education at Montana Tech (which was the majority) was the best. I wasn’t a great student, but when I joined the workforce I began to realize how much I had actually learned, especially when compared to others that went to larger, more prestigious colleges, and some even with MBAs. I appeared to be ahead of several of my colleagues that went to more highly ranked colleges.
Corporate rankings, as I like to call them, fail to rank colleges in a way more meaningful to students. Yes, colleges receive great brand name recognition from these listings, and if you graduate from one of these colleges everyone will “ooooh” and “ahhhh”, but the times they are a changin’. A revolution among college presidents across the nation has begun and countless colleges are now choosing NOT to play. No doubt this will taint the accuracy of these rankings.
This is why we are providing the Rate Your College section of this site. We ask actual students, professors and others directly associated with each college to provide their own opinions. Don’t be mistaken, this is NOT a ranking system, rather it’s rating system. No college is necessarily “ranked” above another. Plus, if you think that there is a question we missed that you would like to know or provide about a college, then let us know, and we’ll start asking.
Most importantly: What is your opinion about corporate college rankings? Like ‘em? Hate ‘em? Am I completely crazy for discounting corporate rankings?
June 17th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I don’t really think that we are plunging into a revolution here. “Refusing to play the ranking game” often hurts the college more than it helps the cause, so only colleges with little to nothing to lose do this (I know there are exceptions, but they are too few to make a difference). Yes, things might change in a few decades, but you still can’t deny the fact that a Harvard or MIT education (while it might not be a whole lot better than Montana Tech’s education, if at all) opens doors. Plus, it’s generally less expensive than state and liberal arts schools.