Rhiannon Schade
Director of College Counseling
Collegewise of Millburn
College rankings shouldn’t affect your search all that much. But if you do use college rankings as you build your college list, it’s critical not to let them drive your entire college search process. Why? A list built exclusively through national rankings takes you out of the equation! It assumes that the whole of your success after college has everything to do with where you went to school and nothing to do with what you did while you were there. This is not a healthy assumption. Your life after college is much more informed by the extent to which you took advantage of the resources and opportunities available to you on your campus—not whether the college you attended was “prestigious" or a "name brand" school.
Robert G. Springall
Former Dean of Admissions
Bucknell University
Books filled with college ratings are written from a general perspective; the more specific and unique your reasons to go to college, the less helpful the ratings and rankings will be. As retired Colby College President William Adams wrote in the book College Unranked, “If a student knows she wants to study at a small college in California and is leaning towards a career in oceanography…no rating or ranking can tell her whether a college will suit her needs. Only careful research can do that.”
You need to consider life both inside and outside the classroom, not just where a school falls in national rankings. If playing sports will be part of the decision, talk to coaches, both your own and those at the campuses you’re considering. The same goes for performing arts and other extracurricular activities. Suppose you’re active in your faith community. In that case, colleges with a denominational affiliation may appeal to you. Still, you may also find a great group of similarly interested people at campuses with no religious affiliation or a faith background different than your own.
Do some hands-on research beyond the ranking books. Visit as many campuses as you can. Keep an open mind. A college that meets just some of your criteria may have a great campus feel, while one that seems perfect on paper and #1 on a top 100 list may be less exciting in person.
Looking for pet-friendly colleges? Or campuses most like Hogwarts? Find unique options beyond your average top 100 schools in the country with the Lists & Rankings on CollegeXpress.