The risk of using college rankings as one of your primary sources for determining which schools will be on your list is related to a lack of transparency. Many rankings don’t explain what goes into determining where a university will fall on the list, and that leaves you open to recommendations from a particular source with unknown motives rather than a school that was selected based on your personal wants and needs.
Of course, there are some outlets that provide a little more transparency in how the schools are ranked. Here are a couple of examples:
- S. News updates its college ranking requirements, criteria, and weights on an annual basis. They also compare the weights to the previous year so you can see what has changed. For example, this year, more weight is being given to Pell graduation rates and performance. Meanwhile, first-generation graduation rates and performance have been eliminated as a criterion.
- Forbes takes a very simplified approach to the ranking process, using only seven criteria to rank universities. The top criteria include the salaries of graduates and how much debt students incur. So, if the return on your investment is your top priority, this may be a superior ranking list for you. Keep in mind that the number of former students who make other top lists published by Forbes (for example, 30 Under 30) accounts for 15% of the ranking, so this may skew the list a little while also making it unique for people who trust the magazine publishers and value their opinion.
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