original501

Seriously, there are PLENTY of great schools that aren't "first-tier".
I blame them for the overstressed/overworked teenagers of America.
Your thoughts?

dunbar

Apparently no one.

Natacion

I totally agree!

peachpuff

they should change their formula so a non-prestigious school comes out on top, like it did before they changed it so that Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were always on top

aluminum_boat

^ so all of CC can ***** about why hyp aren't up top?
Honestly I think they're pretty accurate. You take the first 30 schools and apply based on fit. It's not solely on rankings but it's a starting point

PrincipalV

It's accurate. Plain and simple. Whether it is better for you or not is not the argument. Simply put, HYPSM are the best. Good luck.

tomjonesistheman

people who say there are "other" great schools out there besides HYPSM are usually the ones who are not qualified enough to get into those prestigious colleges.

Zapz

The question is are the rankings overrated, not if they are accurate.

And yes, they are.

fireshark

Regardless of the rankings, those schools would still have just as much prestige before the rankings were put together. I don't need those rankings to know that HYP(SM) are super well known and prestigious; the rankings only reinforce that.

original501

Tomjonesistheman:
Not exactly; I'm being recruited by Columbia, Brown and Yale- but I'm not applying to them, so before you begin your bifurcation, do some thinking first. =]

original501

I agree with Zapz:
Sure, most of the rankings ARE accurate, but they are also WAY overrated; many people take them so seriously that everyone is applying exclusively 1st tier, and not even considering other schools.

tomjonesistheman

^ if you are being recruited by Columbia, Brown, and Yale and do not matriculate to any of those, then you must be a dumba**

vossron

There's not so much of a problem at the top, but below about 10 they become nonsense, magazine editors' idea of what is important, forming a one-size-fits-none ranking. Reportedly fewer than half the schools now return the questionnaires.

Blackroses216

^ perhaps he prefers a smaller class size, or different environment in other aspects. Maybe money is an issue. I know A LOT of people who turn down a "prestigious" school, often times for schools they consider to have a better program. For example, I want to go into engineering, and I believe I have a good shot at MIT and Stanford. However, I do not have an interest for MIT because of several factors, such as size, weather, focus on graduate research, etc. I like Stanford a lot, and may attend grad school there. But as for undergraduate, I would prefer not to for several reasons.

Point is, where is an individual going to be happiest and most successful at? Prestige is definitely not an indicator of that.

dunbar

Everyone always says the U.S. News Rankings are overrated, but seriously, who's ever heard of someone actually interpreting them too deeply? Take them with a grain of salt and they can be pretty useful, just like anything else in life. I find the rankings interesting myself, though obviously they are not perfect.