OP, the answer is no, of course there is no official T10.
And a highly useful answer:
Anonymous wrote:
No, the USNWR is garbage. Their rankings are based on whatever criteria they deem important, and whatever data the admins of the school chooses to provide in their own discretion. In the past Columbia, Claremont Mckenna College and others have fudged numbers. So I hardly call USNWR's criteria or accuracy reliable. For example, they weight social mobility over class size which may not be what a student is looking for. And they rank R1 unis and LACs separately, and many colleges are test optional with only 25% of people submitting tests so there is no apples to apples comparison on peer student strength when there are other colleges where 75+% submit test scores. So be skeptical of USNWR.
What I would suggest instead is to look at rankings for top 15-25 schools that are very strong in your DC's intended major: engineering, international relations, undergrad business, pre-med, art, etc. These look very different depending on the school. Purdue is much stronger for engineering than many traditional top 15 schools and most SLACs, and GW punches above its weight in traditional rankings for International Relations and Poli Sci.
So maybe start with the Fiske Guide (unranked but has ratings for each school's academic, social life, quality of life, etc.) and then do some googling and talking to professionals in the broad or specific subject area DC is interested in.
I do agree that these general prestige lists (Ivy Plus/New Ivies) aren't terrible since they do include generally rigorous schools that are well regarded by employers, but it's worth clicking down into the specific field unless your DC is fully undecided.
Good luck OP!
Thank you to this PP ^^ because even though I'm not OP, I really appreciate what you've said here, it's helpful as our family is also starting this college app journey with twins.
First, don't go into this thinking a magazine's Top 10 are anything but a lottery pipe dream. You will set her up for disappointment.
Second, one kids' Top 10 list is another kids' nightmare. You may be surprised once you really start to look at schools what becomes meaningful to your child. There are hundreds of great colleges out there. Don't get hung up on lists.
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