Is Forbes's college rankings correct????

[annasdad]

<p>

So how do you identify the “outstanding” ones (let alone the very good but not famous ones) without resorting to aids like college rankings, especially if you are a first generation student, an immigrant, or otherwise not very familiar with American colleges … and assuming you are a good student shopping beyond your local market?</p>

<p>How for example do you identify schools with a high concentration of “peers … that empower you” without considering factors like admission selectivity? How do you identify schools with professors and environments that empower you, without looking at measurable criteria like class sizes, faculty resources, and financial resources?

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<p>You could start here.</p>

<p>[How</a> to make NSSE college scores work for you - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/nsse.htm]How”>http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/nsse.htm)</p>

<p>The factors used in this survey track pretty closely with the factors that research has shown do matter in helping students develop academically. A limitation is that it only reports data for those colleges that voluntarily share it; none of the so-called “top 20” universities do, at least none of those I checked (wonder if they’re hiding something?) and participation in general appears to be higher in the central part of the country than on either coast.</p>