<p>Now, now, kids…anyone who wants to do a ranking gets to decide what the criteria will be. According to Forbes and USNWR’s pre-selected criteria, West Point came out #1 this year. It gives WP bragging rights for the time being. Next year, it may be someone else. Any study/report/ranking is inerrantly flawed/biased unless it is strictly numerically based (i.e. which school has highest SAT scores?). Do the IVYs have a reputation for being elitist? Of course they do. Is everyone there of that mindset? Of course not. Some of us scratch our heads and wonder why anyone would accumulate so much debt for a major such as psychology or sociology…but we know the name on the diploma is important. We know that university selection also establishes relationships that can open future doors. How about if everyone stops slinging mud long enough to gain some perspective and realize that this is just a ranking based on what two magazines chose to rank. As a West Point mom, I love that we can claim this honor. However, I really think the University of Montevallo should have made the list…</p>