Forbes and Washington Monthly college rankings for 2022 just released this week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one cares about these rankings. It's the US News ranking that matters.

You were ahead with the first sentence. Then the second sentence showed up. Sad.

You clearly aren't a college counselor

Maybe they're not, but I am. You're not doing your students any favors if you're advising them that the US News rankings matter.

You can ignore the gold standard all you want and keep saying USNWR doesn’t matter but it is the reason schools are behaving the way they are about admissions …. Everything is tied to the reporting of stats to USNWR. I’m not saying that’s correct but it is what it is. Hence the fuss over number of acceptances and focus on yield, stats, gpa and test scores. This problem is what us driving admissions offices and marketing for our nation’s institutions of higher learning. To ignore that is foolish. All of the other ranks started because everyone realized there is money in rankings (wash Monthly sells ads to institutions hoping for a good rating; also pants and students subscribe to see the list).

This isn't quite right. Yield doesn't impact USNWR rankings--colleges care about that because they care about managing enrollment. A lot of the admissions factors have nothing to do with rankings--they have everything to do with enrollment. Admissions is a relatively small aspect of USNWR rankings but a critical part of colleges being able to pay their expenses.

Some colleges care a lot about USNWR and adjust their behaviors to its measures. Most colleges care somewhat. But I work in higher ed, the impact of the rankings is waning rather than growing.

Let's hope you are correct. Pursuit of rankings has probably driven up hundreds of billions in costs and debt.

NP. I agree 100 percent. But I think it will still be some years until this knowledge trickles down to kids and parents (and DCUM).

[Anonymous]

I'll share whether or not rankings matter on September 12th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one cares about these rankings. It's the US News ranking that matters.

You were ahead with the first sentence. Then the second sentence showed up. Sad.

You clearly aren't a college counselor

Maybe they're not, but I am. You're not doing your students any favors if you're advising them that the US News rankings matter.

You can ignore the gold standard all you want and keep saying USNWR doesn’t matter but it is the reason schools are behaving the way they are about admissions …. Everything is tied to the reporting of stats to USNWR. I’m not saying that’s correct but it is what it is. Hence the fuss over number of acceptances and focus on yield, stats, gpa and test scores. This problem is what us driving admissions offices and marketing for our nation’s institutions of higher learning. To ignore that is foolish. All of the other ranks started because everyone realized there is money in rankings (wash Monthly sells ads to institutions hoping for a good rating; also pants and students subscribe to see the list).

This isn't quite right. Yield doesn't impact USNWR rankings--colleges care about that because they care about managing enrollment. A lot of the admissions factors have nothing to do with rankings--they have everything to do with enrollment. Admissions is a relatively small aspect of USNWR rankings but a critical part of colleges being able to pay their expenses.

Some colleges care a lot about USNWR and adjust their behaviors to its measures. Most colleges care somewhat. But I work in higher ed, the impact of the rankings is waning rather than growing.

Let's hope you are correct. Pursuit of rankings has probably driven up hundreds of billions in costs and debt.

NP. I agree 100 percent. But I think it will still be some years until this knowledge trickles down to kids and parents (and DCUM).

Ranking is a good reference and a factor to consider when there are more than 2000 4 year colleges and universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I wish the OP who keeps posting these would stop. Or just stick with USNWR. Wash. Monthly has no staff to really research this and write it up. Same with CollegeNiche, whom someone posted last week. It is all USNWR.

Pretty funny that in a year when USNWR actually had to de-list the university it had ranked number 2 in the entire country because of submission of suspect (and unverified) data that USNWR relied on - leaving just as much egg on USNWR's face as on Columbia's -- some DCUMer is arguing that USNWR rankings serve as some sort of gold standard and that no other publication devotes the resources to the task that USNWR does.

Columbia is still #5 after it was delisted, rubbing USNews' egged-faced in the mud.