<p>Gellino, “a much lower acceptance rate”? According to Middlebury their acceptance rate was 18.5%, according to Dartmouth their acceptance rate was 18.3%. I’m not sure what they told you at Colgate, but I have to disagree that a 0.2% lower rate qualifies as “much lower”. Additionally, the shirt which you referred to is at least 15 years old. As Arcadia mentioned, a lot has changed in 15 years (remember? that’s when Bush Senior was ending his presidency). </p>
<p>I’m not trying to argue the merit of ranking. I think it’s silly. I do however believe that among the top ten schools there’s basically no difference in quality of education. I honestly believe that fit is the most important thing. I’ve studied at a NESCAC LAC, a large Pac-10 University, and an Ivy League institution. Far and away the best of those schools was the NESCAC LAC, followed by the Pac-10 University. Fit is ultimately more important than reputation. The fact is that you can get a great education at most schools in America. The student will get out of his education what he puts into it. That’s the most important thing for applying students to remember.</p>