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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't take any reference to Wash. U. and rankings seriously because they've made such a concerted effort to game them.

Aside from the fact that the rankings are BS for a whole lotta reasons, do you really think there's a significant difference between #7 and #16?[/quote]

To the schools themselves, the difference between #7 and #16 is enormous. The schools care about the USNews rankings - a lot.  There was an article a few years back detailing how University of a Chicago met with US news to understand better how they should be reporting their data.  UC learned they were reporting some things in a way that hurt their ranking, changed their reporting and moved up from the mid-teens.  Those who rant against the USNEWS ratings seldom take time to understand the methodology.  USNEWS lays it all out yet you'll often read rants that suggest that the key to improved rankings is tricking unqualified applicants into submitting applications to bring down the acceptance rate.  It just isn't so.

Is the USNEWS ranking perfect? no, but it is the ranking that matters to schools.  [/quote]

It matters to some schools and so they try to game the system, as your post reflects. Thats problem number one. Problem number two is that they are trying to quantify something that can't be quantified. It doesn't matter what the methodology is. You could pick different factors to measure -- all factors that reflect well on the school -- and come up with completely different rankings. You could weight the same factors differently. Maybe you care very little about how much money a school is putting into its physical plant and care a great deal about how much interaction students have directly with professors. Maybe you care less about "yield" and more about whether students are required to do a thesis or extended research project before they graduate.  (A friend has a son at a top 5 university who got through his entire freshman year without doing any extensive writing. Thats an education?)

Wash U, at least two years ago, was giving every student who took a tour a "free preliminary application." In that manner, they could pump up their application rate and therefore have a lower acceptance rate. And it works! See how they've risen in the rankings with this sort of thing. And then sheep will send their children there solely because it has such a high ranking (there are more affirmative reasons to go, I'm not ragging on all Wash U students).

If Chicago can wave a magic wand and move up in the rankings it proves the point that there is no significant difference between #7 and #16. Except maybe bragging rights. You want to be that person?[/quote]

"Wash U, at least two years ago, was giving every student who took a tour a "free preliminary application." In that manner, they could pump up their application rate and therefore have a lower acceptance rate. And it works! See how they've risen in the rankings with this sort of thing. And then sheep will send their children there solely because it has such a high ranking (there are more affirmative reasons to go, I'm not ragging on all Wash U students). "

I've seen this or similar whoppers posted here periodically.  Just to inject a wee bit of factual information - ten years ago, Washington University was ranked #9 (tied with Dartmouth) http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/340.aspx  In 2013, Washington University was ranked #14.  So the grand scheme to "pump up their application rate" seems to have failed miserably.  I suppose that (like some on DCUM) they were too dumb or lazy to take time to understand the USNews methodology and understand that acceptance rate counts for a minuscule 1/80th of the ranking.

I get that you don't think rankings should matter and you are, of course, free to ignore them.  My only point is that the US News rankings do matter to enough people that schools care a lot about the US News Rankings.  Understanding the importance of the US News rankings to schools and the methodology is a key to demystifying  the college application process.  As much as people and schools love to "hate" the US News rankings, it would be foolish to deny the positive impact the rankings have had in forcing schools to focus on issues like retention rate, class size, facilities and standardized test scores.[/quote]

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