Reply to Is there an official T10 list?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Is there an official T10 list?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hi all, my DD is a sophmore in HS so we're just starting to truly think about this college application process (but no, we are not only now starting to think about having a well-rounded kid with a variety of interests, that's been her whole life).

But I'm new to reading this sub, and I see lots of people talk about T10 and T5.  Are these the top 10 schools according to US News & World Report?  Or where is the "official" list of T10 colleges and universities for undergrad?[/quote]

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!
[/quote]

well said[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics