<p>So much for the rankings! This story is noteworthy IMO more for the partial explanation of how colleges are ranked. The incoming student body selectivity (class rank, gpa, sat scores etc) has absolutely nothing to do with anything inherent in the university. The quality of the instruction, laboratories, living learning communities, study abroad options, co-op/interships, number and quality of companies coming to recruit, quality of service provided by career services department etc are what you are paying for to attend. </p>
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<li><p>Go to xyz university and your peers may be really smart. But the freshman and sophmore introductory classes are still lectures in auditoriums. The labs are outdated, the career services are abysmal, and the food stinks. Why is this university so highly ranked?</p></li>
<li><p>In contrast, low ranked public university accepts many good students none of whom have patent applications and few with max SAT scores. The university has state of the art labs because the state made that a priority and local companys (in the know) recruit heavily at the school. All of the professors are selected mainly based upon their ability to teach so students at the school actually improve upon their existing knowlege instead of just passing time.</p></li>
<li><p>GWU had to estimate class rank because so many HS do not provide the information. If they don’t report the non-existant information their rank could drop.</p></li>
</ol>