Close to 60% of high school seniors who graduated in the spring of 2023 said they consulted college rankings in their search for the right school according to a survey published by the Art & Science Group. This represents the huge significance placed on rankings by students looking to join higher learning institutions.
But what are college rankings? Where do they come from? What do they mean to students?
Students use rankings to make informed decisions about higher education. These detailed top colleges in the world lists offer a means for international students to compare institutions and benchmark performance — especially when it comes to universities that are not well-known in their country of origin.
This article will delve into what college rankings are and how students can use them to find the right institution.
What Are College Rankings?
Every year, college ranking lists of the best colleges/universities in the U.S. are published by various organizations. The most popular include U.S. News, Niche, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, among others. The higher learning institutions included in these lists are evaluated based on a selection of factors such as:
- Faculty-to-student ratio, class size, faculty salaries, and other faculty resources
- Academic reputation as determined through surveys
- The rate at which students remain students beyond their first year and graduate
- Employment statistics for graduates
- Outstanding loans owed by graduates
- Financial resources per student
- Student Selectivity for Acceptance, i.e., acceptance rates, ACT/SAT scores, and class ranks of admitted students
This list is not exhaustive. Different organizations use different ranking factors and weights, resulting in variations in the resulting lists. For instance, Niche college rankings assign a diversity score to institutions, while U.S. News includes the average giving rate of their alumni in their ranking formula.
After the factors are weighted and each institution’s score is calculated, the colleges are then compared, assigned a score, and ranked from the highest to the lowest.
Each year, the criteria and weights assigned to each category are adjusted by the ranking organizations.
Pros and Cons of University Rankings
College rankings come with several advantages. For starters, thanks to their standardized assessments of a wide array of universities, college rankings help students narrow down their search from a huge pool of competing options.
Furthermore, these lists help users make informed decisions by showing which institutions provide a stronger academic community, better facilities, and more resources.
On the other hand, while useful, these lists may ignore various important factors, like diversity, student support services, and campus culture — all of which may be important to students.
Impact of University Rankings
Colleges place a lot of significance on their rankings. After all, university rankings have a huge impact on an institution’s ability to recruit faculty and even raise funds from alumni.
Students interested in seeking financial aid to fund their college education might want to know whether rankings have an impact on funding. Usually, colleges receive a higher ranking by simply having higher ACT/SAT scores in their student bodies. This pushes institutions to put more effort toward recruiting students with higher scores. As such, schools in the top fifty or top twenty are inclined to offer huge scholarships to high-performing students to boost their ranking.
No doubt going to one of the top universities in the country makes students more attractive to potential employers. However, learners shouldn’t be overly concerned about the relationship between employment and college rankings as their chances of securing a job are mainly dependent on who they are and not where they studied.
Let Us Help You Find the Perfect School Today!
College rankings are an essential tool for those looking to learn more about U.S. higher learning institutions. However, students shouldn’t solely rely on them when it comes to choosing a school. Finding a school that is a perfect fit for a student is more important than the institution’s ranking.
Looking for accurate and reliable information when it comes to studying in the U.S., U.K., and Canada? Contact Bruscan Educational Information Services today.
