Students to Colleges: Rankings Not-So Important

rankings

This list is somewhat misleading....

The number one reason cited by students as very important in influencing their college decision? "Academic reputation." How are perceptions about academic reputation formed by prospective students and their parents? Rankings in national magazines loom large.

So, while rankings in national magazines comes in 10th in the survey, these rankings influence student perceptions in several key areas...

Not so misleading

The CIRP Freshman Survey from UCLA actually has been asking that reputation question since 1967, way before any magazine rankings. Do the rankings influence perceptions of a college? Possibly. If only 17.6% of students report that the rankings are 'very important' then I doubt they do 'loom large.' Students had opinions before the rankings, and I'm guessing they will after the rankings too.

What does it mean?

What does "academic reputation" mean? It can mean anything from the school's overall academic excellence to the sorts of students who apply there to how good the school is in the area(s) of study that the student is considering. I applied as a music composition major, so I tried to evaluate the reputation of each college's music school - yet at the same time I wanted a place that had a good overall academic reputation (not just in music) and had students that were interested in academic/intellectual pursuits rather than just partying or socializing. Any of those can fall under "academic reputation" but to me they were separate criteria - one excellent music school might also be a "party school" or have an otherwise dismal academic rep, and vice versa. I think this survey could be a little bit more specific as any number of considerations could fall under "academic reputation."

So now what?

So, understanding these findings, what are colleges and universities to do to improve their reputation or to help graduates get good jobs?