Ahead of the new US News rankings...

[Anonymous]

Read this!
"Your Annual Reminder to Ignore the U.S. News & World Report College Rankings"

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/09/your-annual-reminder-to-ignore-the-us-news-world-report-college-rankings/279103/

[Anonymous]

These rankings are based on variables that are (arguably) much more meaningful. The schools stack up very differently.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/toc_2013.php

[Anonymous]

Wishful thinking. Schools ignore the US News rankings at their own peril.

The release of the 2014 rankings is widely reported today for a reason. Other rankings? Not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These rankings are based on variables that are (arguably) much more meaningful. The schools stack up very differently.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/toc_2013.php

I love my alma mater (NC State), but I would really have a hard time ranking it above Cal Tech or Cornell.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on what matters to you.

For example, if you are completely turned off by colleges that specialize in educating rich kids, like Cal Tech, which only has a paltry 9% of its students qualifying for Pell Grants, then rankings like Washington Monthly's might be of interest to you.

For me, my kids' college educations will be the largest single purchase I make in my life, outside of my house. If I can, I intend to spend that money wisely AND socially responsibly. That doesn't mean I'd necessarily choose NC State over Cornell, but it does mean I will place little weight on, e.g., acceptance rates (which are so manipulated by colleges as to be meaningless).

[Anonymous]

^^ posted too soon:

...and I will consider things like how colleges do educating poorer students (even though we are not poor ourselves).

[Anonymous]

Never did pay much attention the The US News and World reports, its just a educational mafia.