By Lucas Weingarten
U.S. News & World Report is ranked #1 in… ranking. Specifically, I’m talking about they’re annual rankings of colleges and universities. US News is the go-to publication for anyone interested in where an institution falls in relation to its peer institutions, and the expectation is that the “Top XX” lists are actually meaningful. Well, the meaningfulness of those lists is under some serious scrutiny.
After the question was asked and momentum built, the National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) published a report in late-September 2011 outlining the deficiencies of the magazine’s ranking algorithm and making recommendations on how US News & World Report can improve their current methodology (a weighted average of various assessment scores). Interestingly, US News’ response, in sum, was, ‘Thanks for the conversation, but we’re satisfied with how we arrive at our rankings and we will continue to do it the way we’ve always done it.’
One of the ranking criteria is average scores on standardized tests. The publication’s argument for including those scores is buttressed by how highly institutions value those scores. “Schools are using [test scores] to build their class,” said Robert Morse, US News rankings supervisor. “We believe that makes [them] a credible metric.”
Here’s the thing: a high(er) ranking in US News & World Report is coveted by universities and held up by faculty, staff, current students, and alumni as solid evidence of worth and effectiveness. Whether that ranking is actually representative of actual student-body strength and experience is another issue. Why this matters for you, right now, is that schools want the highest numerical ranking possible, and they know that your GMAT score directly impacts that number. Well, are you gonna help ‘em or are you gonna hurt ‘em?
~Article provided by the courtesy of Kaplan GMAT
