The College Ranking Delusion Pt. 2

By Andy Beaudoin on March 12, 2013

The Problem within the Ranks

I continued to research, finding myself at “The College Solution,” a blog written by popular college expert and journalist, Lynn O’Shaugnessy. In her post about the skewed perception of college rankings, she claims that “turning out thoughtful, articulate young men and women, who can write cogently and think critically won’t budge a school’s ranking up even one spot.” She also mentions that the college rankings tend to favor “affluent students.” 

In another one of her blogs for CBS News, she explains that the U.S. News rewards colleges that spend more money. Basically, if a college can dish out enough cash for new buildings or dormitories, it’s likely to see a bump in the rankings, but consequently the students are left paying for these new features. On the other hand, colleges that concentrate on making school more affordable will be ignored by the ranking giant.

Another interesting article from the New Yorker explains the ambiguity of ranking a school. What Gladwell points out in his article is that the schools are ranked heterogeneously and comprehensively. Essentially, U.S. News attempts to compare schools that are not only drastically different, (heterogeneous) but also an array of diverse factors (comprehensive); they compile all of this information and then assign a single numeric value to symbolize the school’s rank.

A good example from the article explains how Penn State (a giant public university consisting of about 45,000 students) outranked Yeshiva University (a tiny, private university in Manhantan) by a single point. Given this ranking, the two schools are essentially of the same value, despite the multiple outliers: size, student body, location, academic and social experience and, of course, cost.

It’s important to know, however, that these rankings are put out because of audience want. Obviously most students and parents do not have the means to visit every school on their list, so they look towards rankings to get a better idea of the quality of the university. But how do you put the quality of a school into numbers? There are countless, varying aspects to consider on a campus—no two professors are alike on any campus, nor are any two students.

The Result of School Rankings

What I’m still left wondering is how attached employers and recruiters are to these college rankings. Are certain lower-ranked college students looking for a job ignored, even if they have the same grades of a college student of a slightly higher-ranked school? I hope not, seeing that in such programs as engineering, a uniformity of information is required for certain jobs. It’s disconcerting because the U.S. News has a great deal of power to draw audiences (the college ranking site brings in about ten million visitors).

What’s really sad about the whole thing, I think, is the power given to students to say their school is better, when the fact of the matter is that it’s the students responsibility to further his/her education. Sure, a ranking might tell you how selective a school is, but it will certainly not determine your work ethic for the next four years.

Universities can not run without money and collegiate hierarchy is probable cause for supplying that cash. It’s clear, however, that ranking a university is far too ambiguous and misleading. Unfortunately, the U.S. News has given itself the power to grant nobility to universities–specifically the ones who can flaunt ritzy amenities and coax wealthier students to pay a little extra for tuition. If you want to be a smart student, you’ll have to put in the work, but as far as rankings go, you’ll have to leave it up to the sports teams. 

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