The College Rankings Revolt

tokenadult
Tue, 26 Jun 2007 12:59:19 +0000

The criteria Proud Dad suggests in post #212 would be reflected by a survey of actual student behavior in enrolling after being admitted to more than one college, and I think that would be good. The post brings up the additional issue of tracking transfer students, and I agree that a student who transfers is especially knowledgeable about the student experience at all colleges that student attended. I know two men in my generation who each attended FOUR different undergraduate colleges, transferring from one to another, finishing their four-year degree programs in four years. They can speak with authority about four colleges each. I’d like someone to aggregate information like that about revealed student preference, rather than rely solely on the marketing statements of college administrators.

My children will make the call about where to apply when the time comes. They definitely will NOT simply go from top down on the U.S. News list(s) of colleges to decide where to apply. They also get full scope to decide which college to attend if admitted to more than one: my wife and I are committed to paying the full EFC for their attendance at any good college of their choice. I hope that students in future graduating classes have lots of information about what other students thought about college-to-college comparisons before deciding where to matriculate–students have to live with their decisions, so their preferences are important, I think.