The Problem With Ratings

Alex asked me to write something controversial a few days ago and I hope this will spark a bit of discussion on the subject. I would like to say that I believe college rankings to be mostly meaningless. And while this is only a brief summary into why I believe this, my hope is that we can use this summary as a diving board into the issues that each of these points represent. Now without further discussion, let us begin with methodology.

Methodology plays a big role into these ratings systems but which one is the best way to rank the quality of a school? Why do so many organizations use different ratings systems? Why do organizations even change their ratings systems from year to year? I think it is obvious to state that every student at the 32nd ranked school is not going to be less capable in ability than the students at the 25th ranked school. I also think a better measure of each of these colleges is to explore the whole college experience and the immeasurable like how each of these schools have affected the lives of their students. These are factors that looking at a school’s selectiveness and ACT scores are incapable of.

Next I am going to ask what the numbers mean in relation to each other. For example Michigan often places somewhere within the top 10% of top rated schools. What about all the schools that are not rated? If we were to consider the number of schools not even making it onto this list, we can basically reduce these top college lists to a bickering war among the top 1% of colleges.

Finally I want to say that the most important factor in any of these college lists is you. No matter how many doors the name of your college opens up, it is still up to you to make something of these opportunities. It is also up to you to make your own opportunities. People are going to care less and less which college you went to as time goes on. They are going to care more about what you have done since then.