Getting Started on the College Rankings

Mr. Morse,

The data on acceptance rates and yields in the "Most Popular Colleges" tables are very interesting to see, but as I'm sure you recognize, there are flaws in equating yield with popularity. A high yield must be viewed in the context of a school's applicant pool (popularity at the app stage), and also its mission, as in how broadly or narrowly it appeals to students, and thus how many are predisposed to choose it when they apply. (e.g. the military academies or BYU) I would suggest doing a little simple math to factor in a school's selectivity as a proxy for these effects -- so, take the yield and divide it by the acceptance rate.

This new measure -- call it the desirability index or something -- would normalize the yield rankings for selectivity. It would make these lists look a bit more familiar, with the Ivies and the military schools crowding at the top (Harvard = 8.8, Navy = 5.8), but there would still be some nice surprises, like the fact that Berea College (KY) comes in 3rd on the liberal arts list at 2.5, beating Williams, Swarthmore, and Pomona. Just something to consider. Yield is certainly a much more complex animal than this list makes it out to be.

For whatever it's worth.

Luke of MA 12:38PM April 18, 2008