tokenadult

It's a good idea to closely compare multiple characteristics of colleges before deciding which to attend (or even to apply to) and it is a good idea to look outside one's own region to find hidden gems.

Kevinhart

TokenAdult: This is the best and most useful thread on all of college confidential. Being able to see in one glance a consolidation of multiple rankings in one glance is extremely useful. Thank you for your efforts.

warriorboy648

This is a great thread that has given us some new ideas for schools to heck out.

tokenadult

Thanks for the kind words. I hope it helps a bunch of applicants this year.

pbleic

TA - thanks for this great list. Any chance you would be willing to update your *'s to reflect the 2009 Barron's? For one example I noticed, Rensselaer went from ** to ***. I am sure there are others.

Thanks either way!

tokenadult

Thanks for the compliment. Yes, I have the 2009 Barron's book at hand and am checking for selectivity changes. As one might guess, must changes are in the direction of more colleges becoming more selective at the top end of college selectivity.

tokenadult

I'll bring up my post here for reference for seniors comparing offers of admission and deciding where to enroll and for juniors deciding where to apply in the fall.

And I'll link here to a source I learned about from another CC participant,

Harvard Number One University in Eyes of Public

which doesn't tell the whole story about how colleges compare, but may be food for thought.

tokenadult

Now that class of 2009 seniors have mostly committed to what colleges they will attend, I'll bring up this thread for reference by class of 2010 juniors who are looking for colleges to apply to.

tokenadult

This list is getting to be almost two years old, but movement in college reputations is slow, and most of the best known colleges just get more selective over time, so with that in mind, take a look at this thread if you'd like to round out your college application list for this admission season. Good luck to all of you from class of 2010 applying this fall.

tokenadult

At this time of year, many class of 2010 seniors are refining their college application lists, and I hope this thread is helpful for those of you looking for other colleges to consider applying to.

lantzk

Thanks for this list, it's been far more helpful than my guidance counselor.

ghostbuster

Yep....I have long recommended that parents and students use the Barrons Guide and Petersen's guide for picking colleges. There are so many wonderful schools out there if only people will take the time to look, and get over that obsession with "where are they ranked in USNWR", as if that has anything to do with being a good fit for them. And it gives hope and inspiration to young people who feel a bit overwhelmed by the people who may be in the elite status, making them feel less worthy or that nobody wants them. Truth is, there are many schools who want you, if you just take the time to look and see who is out there.

tokenadult

I hope this thread helps the seniors applying this year. Good luck to all of you.