The Truth About College Rankings

Get a Top-Notch Education Regardless of the Rankings

Shelby Kimlick had a choice. She could accept the scholarship to the highly competitive Purdue University or follow her passion for fashion at Columbia College. Now a junior majoring in fashion design and business at Columbia College, a liberal arts college in downtown Chicago, Shelby said, "I knew that if I wanted a career in the arts, it was more important to go to a school where I could make the right connections and meet the right people than to graduate from a school solely based on their high ratings."

If you're facing the question: "Which college will I attend and how do I know it's the best one for me?" your first instinct may be to reach for all the well-known studies, reports, and publications that rank colleges. But before you read through all the listings, consider what a college's ranking will really mean for you.

Are You Choosing the College or Is It Choosing You?

After a lot of thought and research, Shelby decided on Columbia. "The thing that sealed the deal for me was the fact that almost all the teachers at Columbia are also professionals in whatever industry they're teaching," she said. "Being in the city was also a huge plus. I've already met so many people in my field that I'm pretty much guaranteed a job as soon as I graduate. If I went to Purdue, I would've had to move to a big city after graduation to get that kind of experience."

The fact is, no matter how great a school looks on paper, it may not be right for you. Shelby knew she was taking a risk by turning down a scholarship from a prestigious college, but she also knew it would be risky to launch a fashion career in a place where jobs, internships, and people connections were few and far between.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start

What are my priorities and interests?
What are my career goals?
What needs do I have, especially if I'm going to attend a school away from home or even out-of-state?

Remember: Rankings Change

According to Shirley Levin, an educational consultant and president of College Bound, Inc., in Rockville, Maryland, many college rankings change from year to year. For example, a college that was ranked No. 2 one year could drop to No. 8 the next year, or a school that was in the second tier could jump up to a top-20 category.

"Some of these changes are directly related to the fact that the (rankings source) is constantly changing the formula and the type of information it uses to rank the schools—everything from subjective impressions of college presidents to the size of alumni donations as a measure of their satisfaction," Levin says. "Also, the difference in scores among schools is so small that a slight change in a factor such as percentage of applicants accepted can make the difference."

Start Your Own Top-10 List

Attending college is as big of an investment, if not bigger, as buying a house or car, so treat it like one. Instead of focusing only on top-ranked colleges, or colleges with high acceptance rates, try to figure out which schools meet your top-10 list.

Steps for Finding the Best College for You

Do the Research.
Explore all your options to get a sense for what's out there.
Go With What You Know.
Decide what your goals and interests are and then search for colleges that match up.
Start Your Own College Survey.
Instead of depending on rankings to decide on your college list, do your own research by talking to students, alumni, or teachers. Be sure to talk to people—particularly those not directly affiliated with the college—who aren't trying to "sell" you the school.
Ask For Help.
Ask your high school counselors for advice on colleges. That's what they're there for. You should also try talking to teachers and other students' parents who have experience with college admissions.
See It For Yourself.
Visiting a college campus—or several for that matter—is often the best way to find out whether a college is right for you.