NOTES ON ¨PRESTIGE¨: DOES COLLEGE RANKINGS MATTER?
Choosing which colleges to visit, let alone applying can be an extremely difficult and complicated process for both students and parents. Between location, school size, campus culture, financial aid resources and a host of other factors that to consider, it can often feel like there is simply too much to juggle. Thus, many students, parents and guidance counselors often rely on college ranking lists provided by companies such as Forbes and US News and World Report to help narrow decisions and alleviate stress.
How reliable though are these rankings? And perhaps more importantly, how significant is prestige when choosing which college or university to attend?
Read on to discover what metrics are used to create these much lauded rankings and whether or not they should hold weight in your own college admissions decision.
Rankings
The first thing to know when figuring out whether to rely on college rankings list is that companies that create these lists each have their own recipe for making these calculations. No one company considers the same metrics.
Therefore, while there are certain schools that will inevitably rank high on every college ranking list, many of these lists do not overlap. This says more about the ambiguity of rankings than its consistency and reliability.
Forbes list produces one of the most popular rankings and depends on the following 5 metrics to assess schools:
Student Satisfaction: calculated based on retention rates and student evaluations
Post grad success: calculated based on alumni salary and number of alumni in positions of power
Average Student Debt
Four Year Graduation rate
Number of Competitive Awards won by students
For many students and their families, these metrics are extremely important, and most if not all of these metrics are factored into their decision when choosing a higher ed institution. However, these factors are also highly subjective in assessment.
Student satisfaction and post-graduate success may matter to one student and assert great meaning, but it may be defined and measured in ways that are dramatically different than how Forbes chooses. Thus, rankings should (and can) be used as a launching pad that helps students gauge what to look for as they research colleges. But, they should not have the final word in what ought to be a very personal decision when deciding where to spend 4-5 years of your life.
It is also advised that parents and students be very wary of ranking lists that give a lot of weight to a school’s selectivity rating. A selectivity rating is the percentage of students that a school accepts from the number of total applications they receive. It is understood that the lower a school’s selectivity rating, the more prestigious or exclusive it is because it is so difficult to be accepted. While it may seem more attractive to apply to schools with extremely low percentages, it is must be noted that these numbers can easily be skewed because the percentages are based on the number of students actually applying. For example, there can be two schools that accept the same number of students of equal caliber. But, if one school is significantly more popular than the other and receives more applicants, the selectivity percentages will be dramatically lower.
Similarly, schools that are designed for specific populations will generally have higher selectivity percentages. For instance, my alma mater of Wellesley is still a top tier college but its selectivity percentage does not necessarily reveal that when compared against other elite institutions. As a women’s college, Wellesley has a much smaller applicant pool than co-ed institutions that receive applications from both men and women. Parents and students should be sure to not take such information at face value. Instead, research more deeply what a certain school’s selectivity rating means in light of its unique structure.
Prestige
Now that we have tackled the issue of school rankings, there is another slightly different but related issue of prestige. Prestigious colleges are typically understood as schools that everyone knows and recognizes as being exclusive, elite and serving the most well qualified (and often the wealthiest) students. Traditionally prestigious schools include those in the Ivy League, colleges in the Seven Sisters consortium and highly selective universities like Stanford, Duke as well as a host of others. Much like rankings, prestige levels are important to be aware of, but whether or not they should make or break your decision is a more personal matter that depends on a host of other factors.
Major/Area of Interest
In many ways, the importance of the level of prestige that a certain school carries is determined by what major or vocation your child is interested in pursuing. Research shows that students in the field of business, social science and education will earn more if they receive a degree from a top tier college than graduates of less selective colleges. However, graduates with degrees in the humanities and ¨hard¨ sciences (particularly engineering) from top tier schools are likely to earn about equal to their peers from less selective schools. Therefore, the impact of prestige on one’s success and earning potential is primarily determined by the career field that they wish to pursue.
It is also important to note that whether or not a college is even ¨prestigious¨ is oftentimes contingent upon what area of interest your child is interested in. For example, an Ivy League school prestigious for medicine or scientific research may not be as prestigious as a conservatory if a student is interested in pursuing a career in music or performing arts and not medicine or scientific research. You must do your research and figure out what school is the best fit and will bring the most opportunities based on what your child is seeking to do with their lives.
Networking & Opportunities
While prestige may have different roles in a student’s life based on subject matter or area of interest, it is true that there are some general facts that will hold true across the board. One of those is that higher ranked, traditionally ¨prestigious¨ schools will have a stronger alumni network, and will most likely also have the financial resources that can help open the door to a wealth of scholarship opportunities and an ecosystem of professional support systems for your child while they are in school and after they graduate. Research also shows that students from top tier schools are more likely to pursue higher degrees that increase earning potential. Nevertheless, statistical data gleaned from research does not define or determine your personal outcome.
While these understandings about “prestige” should not make or break your decision, we want to make you aware of how prestige is understood and how it functions in higher education and professional careers.
Written by Tamar Davis