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college rankings exposed
TM
www.petersons.com
College rankings distort the truth about college admissions. They
create a false impression that there are, in fact, very few good colleges. Yet
educators--even at top-rated schools--know that this is not true. McGrath
Lewis is adamant in her assertion that "there are literally hundreds of
good colleges." Could this statement be dismissed as false modesty from
a top-ranked institution? "No, I'm serious," she repeats. "There are hun-
dreds of good colleges and universities."
When students are willing to consider a wider range of institutions, they
can worry less about being part of the 80 or 90 percent who are rejected
from the most highly selective of the top-ranked institutions. If nothing else,
prospective students should remember this: most colleges, including many
well-respected institutions, accept the majority of students who apply. When
I ask college-bound students to guess what percentage of college applicants
are admitted to their first choice school, the most common answer is "10
percent." The truth is that in 2001, 70 percent of students gained entry into
their first choice school, and another 22 percent were studying at their sec-
ond choice school. To a degree most students don't appreciate, they are in
control of the college admissions process.
This knowledge is the key to real confidence and empowerment in the
college search process. Knowing that prospective students have many op-
tions, that "quality" exists across the spectrum of higher education, and
that there is no one or two "best" schools is the first step in the college
choice process. In a nation where most people now enroll in college at
some point during their lives, diversity of higher education options exists
for a reason. In order to find the right school, students need to keep their
options open and consider all of the available paths to a college degree.
But if there is no simple answer to the question, "Where should I go
to college?" and if rankings and the things they measure are not reliable
guides, then how should students pick schools? How will they know that
they are, indeed, going to a good institution, one that will deliver all that
it promises in the tours, viewbooks, and Web sites?
