Admissions Academy Blog

Rankings and College Selection

•  Posted by Sarah Ziegler on April 17th, 2009 in Admissions
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On April 15 and 16, admissions officers and professionals gathered at Wake Forest University for the “Rethinking Admissions” conference to discuss current research and best practices in selective college admissions. One of the most anticipated sessions matched Yale University’s admissions dean Jeffrey Brenzel, an outspoken critic of rankings such as those published by U.S. News, with Robert Morse, director of data research for U.S. News & World Report, and Richard Vedder of Ohio University, a collaborator on Forbes’ college rankings. Jacques Steinberg of the New York Times summarized the discourse well in his blog, and the official conference blog offers updates from its numerous sessions.

Despite their differences in opinion, the three men did find common ground. All indicated that rankings are here to stay, that the inherent complexity of choosing among creates a demand to help simplify the process. Professor Vedder went as far as saying that, “It is anti-American to be anti-rankings.”

Another point of agreement centered around the idea that rankings should be more personalized to each student. One strong complaint to current magazine rankings is that they support the myth that there are a set of “right” or “best” colleges for everyone. Many factors — size, location, academic programs, general education curriculum, diversity, gender balance, and cost, to name a few — influence whether a college is a good fit for a student. While choosing schools from magazine rankings can make the daunting college selection process easier, students should be aware that magazine rankings alone, at least not in the current form, do not provide enough information to determine their college lists.

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