<p>I definitely agree that there’s a different standard of “value” for everyone…which is why these rankings by Princeton Review and USN&WR are so preposterous. And it’s also why it’s equally preposterous for individuals to allow themselves to be guided by such subjective measures simply because they’re in a magazine.</p>
<p>A.E. is correct that these are all designed to sell magazines, web site access and other ancillary products. But this is nothing new and it’s hardly limited to higher education. These are entertainment pieces – the same as PR campaigns designed to promote movies and the proliferation of Gene Shalit’s rave review as a way to create interest in a high-budget film, which may, in turn, influence voting members of the MPAA, who then award an Oscar which, frankly, is a great vehicle for stirring up and regenerating interest – and can be leveraged by the studio to sell more tickets and DVDs and broadcast rights, etc.</p>
<p>Arguing about the accuracy of this Princeton Review ranking is like taking issue with Justin Bieber being shut out at the Grammies, whether The King’s Speech was truly the best film considering all the low-budget Indie films out there that are amazing yet don’t have the bully pulpit and strong-arm PR tactics and inroads to thousands of screens nationwide. It’s like being PO’ed that the pre-season football rankings always give Notre Dame a high ranking. And, just as Notre Dame isn’t that good and Justin Bieber isn’t that spectacular and The King’s Speech isn’t the “Best Film” in any objective way, Swarthmore isn’t, by some universally-accepted, objective measure, a “good value.”</p>
<p>It’s all about creating interest and selling magazines and generating public interest and creating water cooler debates. There’s no sinister conspiracy. It’s all just clever marketing by third parties to sell their parasite products. It happens all around us all the time. In some cases it’s directed at couch potato armchair quarterbacks. In some cases it’s directed at starstruck teenage girls. In other cases, it’s directed at movie lovers. And, in this case, it’s directed at students, parents and all the geeky people who “follow” what’s going on in academia.</p>
<p>Whether we agree or disagree with what college ranking publications have to say, the water cooler discussion debates they fuel are bearable only as long as we don’t take their views – or our own – any more seriously than the rankings in Variety, Teen Scene, or Street & Smith’s College Football Spectacular.</p>
<p>There’s one and only one exception to this and that’s that I will brook no debate taking issue with any fan mag or celebrity stalker publication that declares Salma Hayek to be the sexiest woman alive.</p>