I was pleased to read this article in the New York Times about the perils of rankings and how sometimes small and seemingly obscure data can dramatically change a school's rank. I've said it before, I'll say it again: rankings exist to sell magazines. They intentionally change the formula each year in order to get different results.
Speaking of the formula, the criteria itself is questionable at best. Peer ranking counts as a factor in ranking? How much your friends like you is a task best left to Facebook. The bottom line is that every college has strengths and weaknesses. The majority of the 3,000+ colleges out there have at least a few things that they are really really good at. For people interested in those things, they could rank "#1" on their list.
But, people allow themselves to put so much weight into a pointless magazine (or book, or article, or any other 'ranking' organization . . . I'm an equal opportunity ranking basher) that they sometimes lose sight of the fact that there are probably a few kids that are miserable at Harvard and Williams (see that, they can't even limit themselves to anointing one number one, they have to separate Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges . . . ). There are also some kids having their ideal college experience at SUNY Albany, ranked number (gasp!) 143.
I admit, I do have the US News from last year because I got it for free at the Baltimore NACAC. And I do bring it out in some college meetings. Why? Because it is a quick list of schools that can help me double check if I missed a place. I'm not in it looking for a difference between #7 and #12, I'm jogging my memory.
Moral of the story? Don't take rankings as something written in stone (the publishers wouldn't want that either, they need you to buy next year's magazine). Use rankings as a place to start the exploration; look up places on the list that you have not heard of. Pay less attention to the numerical rank and more attention to the information you discover after looking the school up on your own. Also, consider multiple sources - Washington Monthly and Forbes also publish lists that often look different from US News. Last, promise that for every ranking list you look at you will read at least section of Colleges That Change Lives.
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