Everyone seems to want to know - Which colleges are the BEST? The problem is... that's the WRONG QUESTION! The correct question is - Which colleges are the BEST FOR ME? The best college for you will likely be very different than the best college for someone else. There are so many highly personal factors to consider, and virtually none of these are measurable in ways that sell magazines. College rankings exist and abound, but I STRONGLY encourage you not to place much weight on them. In particular, I beg you - please ignore US News and World Report's College Rankings. If you're looking for the right college FOR YOU, I encourage you to look at the following things instead of rankings: 1) Does the school match the things you're looking for? (Size, location, program of study, level of academic pressure/rigor, balance between academics and social life, the "feel" of the campus (closed campus? city feel?), extra-curricular and social activities (including sports, arts, and greek life, amongst others), faculty (ratio to students, quality, availability, and how many classes are taught by TA's instead?), housing, cost of attendance and availability of financial aid for you, and special facilities or services for your own needs? 2) Is the school accredited? Is the program of study that you want accredited? In some cases, the strength of the program can be evaluated by whether they offer bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. programs in your field of study. What degrees are available? THOSE are the things you should focus on. The rankings are not like Consumer Reports... the quality of a college just can't be measured that way. Think for yourself... this is a personal decision and a personalized process. I BEG YOU... Ignore the rankings. Find the university that's right for YOU. :) Ms. Loring **************************************************************************** I know that some of you will still question why I don't trust US News & World Report's rankings (or really any rankings - but they seem to be the most egregious offenders). If you're still in doubt, check out a few of these articles (these are just a few - there are TONS): http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/03/rankings http://www.educationconservancy.org/presidents_letter.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/08/AR2007070800922.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/reaming-college-rankings_b_52995.html