Thoughts on school rankings

p43531
Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:10:05 +0000

if a school has a very high yield (the percentage of admitted kids who choose to matriculate and a very low attrition rate (the percentage of kids lost each year for one reason or another), it seems to me that it’s a school that knows itself well, that admits well, that also manages well the challenges of early independence in a competitive environment.



…unless of course, said school (which presents the above statistics) selected a student body that will be willing (and mentally able) to tough it out through anything imaginable during their years there to get the coveted parchment and that admission to a top college. In which case it is a testament to the students, not the school. Kind of like BUD/S for selecting Navy SEALs: if you are admitted, you go, and if you do not drop out, well, all honor is yours, because instructors will try mighty hard to change your mind.

Just a thought.