Everyone wants to know how their college measures up.
We know it is easy to get caught up in the rankings and prestige game of college planning. Of course, some of the data points used by the US News and World Report make sense. Others, such as Academic Reputation, which holds the strongest criteria for the US News and World Report Rankings, have flaws. While we think the question is well intended, it just isn’t the right question.
If you consider that there are only 75 highly selective colleges in the country. That leaves 3,925 quality institutions that over 98% of students will attend. We believe that the focus should be on the student’s potential experience at college rather than the capricious rankings attached to each institution.
Every parent wants to make sure that their child is going to get a quality education in preparation for the beginning of their adult lives. We also take this very seriously. We believe that the best college for each of our students is based on what is appropriate for them individually coupled with the highest quality academic experience possible.
Setting up a student up for success at the college level and beyond far outweighs the annual ranking of a university by a third party. We tell our clients, there are countless successful people who didn’t attend an elite university. And countless individuals that attended elite universities that are not living up to their full potential.
And for the curious – here are the details for the US News and World Report Methodology if you would like to learn more.