The annual U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges ranking comes out every summer – just before high school seniors submit applications. U.S. News has ranked universities for nearly thirty years, and the rankings issue is a perennial bestseller.

In truth, the rankings match more closely with universities’ endowments than with any other factor. The more money a university has to spend on faculty and to use for financial and merit aid (to attract the best students), the higher the ranking. Rankings weigh student selectivity, graduation rates, alumni giving rates and – most heavily – the college’s academic reputation as determined by university administrators. The rankings appear to be grounded in mathematical numbers and formulas, but the (qualitative) opinion of others holds the most weight.

Do the rankings really mean something?

Yes, rankings do mean something – and they do matter. But be cautious. Students and parents should not only look at rankings to decide where to study. Instead, rankings can give a general sense of a college’s “place” relative to other colleges, but that’s just a starting point. Much more important is the experience that a student gets out of college. Does he want a small, intimate setting to get to know his professors? Is she looking to perform research at a large public institution known for producing Ph.D.s and terrific sports teams? Will the student succeed and thrive at a university? If not, then what does the rank matter?

It’s great for bragging rights to attend a school that is highly ranked – but it’s much more important to do well academically and socially, to keep open options for graduate study and employment. A school’s reputation, after all, can only carry you so far.

It might be best if the rankings were alphabetical in groups of, say, ten universities. It’s a shame when students – and professors and parents – base their (school’s) worth on a ranking. It’s best instead to keep things in perspective and work hard wherever you (or your child) end up enrolling.

The dean of admissions of Claremont McKenna College – currently ranked ninth in the national liberal arts college category – resigned recently after it was discovered that he had been falsely inflating his college’s SAT scores reported to U.S. News. The college’s rank would not change much, if at all, if the correct scores had been reported, but this dean’s desire to gain a better reputation among prospective applicants, parents, college deans and presidents led to his downfall. (He resigned last month.) What kind of reputation does Claremont McKenna now have?

It’s best not to get too caught up in the published rankings of schools, and instead focus on what’s important to you: location, size, academic offerings, research programs study abroad options, sports? Create your own rank of colleges that are best for you.

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