How to interpret college rankings
‘Tis the season for college rankings lists.
As many college students have headed to the classroom in recent weeks, well-known ranking lists like those from Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report also recently debuted 2010 editions for the next wave of college hopefuls.
While the rigorous criteria used by these respected authorities certainly make the lists worthy of examination, school counselors caution prospective students to utilize them only as a starting point.
A recent article from The (Cleveland, Ohio) Plain Dealer provides a well-balanced point of view on the subject.
These well-intentioned rankings lists, as well as things like advice from friends and family, and personal scrutiny of a school’s Web site will only get you so far. One of the best ways to get a true “feel” for a school is by actually going there for a visit, or, barring that possibility, calling up someone from the school’s admissions office and chatting them up about the place.
NPR also has an article from 2007 on its Web site that still is very relevant to the college selection process today.
