Do College Rankings Matter?

For students waiting to hear back from college admission offices, the topic of college rankings might be a prominent player in the decision-making process. But should it be?

Lists and rankings like U.S. News Best Colleges take into consideration opinion surveys from university administrators who do not belong to the school and data collected from the school. For $19.95, students can receive web access to the rankings and profiles of more than 1,500 schools across the country. While U.S. News releases the most prominent and best-selling yearly college rankings, Websites and blogs are peppered with Top 10 lists and Best Colleges recommendations.

Our advice to you? Take them with a grain of salt.

For parents helping their students research and narrow down the best school or course of study, rankings can be helpful, but should be just a small piece of the puzzle. Consider the other pieces, more relevant than rankings:

Prestige is on paper.

If your student is chasing a prestigious degree or wants the identity of attending a top school, remind him that college education is about the years of learning and experience – not the piece of paper he frames and mounts at the end. A degree from a top school might help in landing a great job after graduation, but it’s no guarantee. Experience, networking and confidence often speak louder than a job applicant’s alma mater.

See the big picture.

A highly ranked program within a particular school might be a legitimate draw, but a nationally recognized business program won’t matter if your student changes majors to history. The characteristics of the perfect school will include things you can’t find in a national rating, like proximity to home (whether near or far is preferred), the number of familiar faces who will be there too (whether a few or a lot is preferred) and the feel or energy of the campus your student personally experiences during a visit.

Gaining independence means knowing oneself.

Finding a good fit is more about what your student wants out of a school than what others say make the school exceptional. While rankings provide valuable information, like class size and student-professor ratios, it’s what that information means to your student that will determine his personal ranking of the school. Personal needs and preferences in regards to tuition costs, available financial aid, extra-curricular activities, study abroad programs and campus housing – to name a few – should contribute to your student’s requirements in looking at schools.