Key Takeaways

• College rankings can help you compare schools using data like graduation rates, affordability, class size, and student outcomes.
• No two ranking lists are built the same way, so it’s important to look at the methodology behind each list.
• While college rankings matter, students should build their own “best college list” based on their top priorities, including cost, academic goals, campus experience and more.

You’ve likely scrolled past several “Top 10 Colleges in America” lists by now. Everyone has an opinion about what makes a school “the best.” So, do rankings actually matter? Yes. But the real value isn’t in someone else’s #1. It’s in using rankings as a starting point to build the only list that counts: yours. Here’s how they work, what goes into ranking, and how to turn them into your own personal shortlist.

What are college rankings?

College rankings are ordered lists that score and compare schools against each other, usually on measurable data like graduation rates, selectivity, financial strength, and student outcomes. Some lists rank the “best” schools overall; others zoom in on one aspect, such as best small colleges, best schools in your region, and so on.

It’s important to note that no two rankings are built the same way. Each publication decides which factors to measure and how heavily to weigh them, which is why the same school can look different from one list to the next.

Do college rankings matter?

Yes! College rankings matter. Higher education schools all have strengths and soft spots, and by paying attention to rankings, you can see how schools stack up on things that you can measure. These colleges and universities are regularly working to differentiate themselves from other schools. A ranking can show you how a school has climbed or slipped over the last year or two, which tells you something about its momentum.

How important is college ranking?

However, whether or not college rankings are important to you is a different question. You’re not applying to “the country’s #3 school”; you’re applying to the place where you’ll spend the next four years (or more). Your dream school might not crack the top 50 or show up in a national list at all, and that’s completely okay. A top-ranked college isn’t automatically a top experience for you.

Think of published rankings as a starting point. They’re one piece of the puzzle, a useful one, maybe the first piece that gets you thinking in a new direction. But the ranking that matters most is the one you build for yourself.

What factors go into creating college rankings?

The factors a company or organization may use to create its college rankings can vary along with the weights the organization assigns to each factor, which is why you might see a school at the #2 spot on one list, but #8 on the next.

Knowing what goes into the numbers helps you read them with a critical eye and decide which factors you actually care about. Here are some of the ingredients that commonly go into the mix:

• Graduation rates
• First year retention rates
• Career opportunities and statistics after graduation
• Debt after graduation
• Endowment
• Acceptance rates
• Student selectivity
• Student-to-faculty ratio
• Class size
• Faculty resources and salary
• ACT and SAT scores
• Academic reputation

As you scan that list, a few probably made you think “yeah, that matters to me,” and a few didn’t register at all. That’s the beginning of your own list.

What do rankings actually tell you?

How important is college ranking? Rankings aren’t just a leaderboard for the top 5, 10, or 50 schools. There are actually plenty of college rankings that can give you a wealth of information on how they stack up against other schools!

For example, College Raptor creates rankings for:

• Total enrollment
• Middle-class affordability by state
• Middle-class affordability by major
• Student-faculty ratio
• Acceptance rate
• Graduation rates
• Student loan default rate
• Endowment
• Diversity
• First year retention
• Sports
• and more

We also create additional rankings:

• By state
• By public or private
• By athletic conference
• Hidden gems

How can you use rankings for your college search?

So, you’ve got lists and lists of rankings in front of you. Now what? Here’s are the steps to follow to put them to work in a way that makes sense for you:

1. Start wide, then narrow. Use a broad list (like the national Top 50) to get the lay of the land, then jump to the rankings that fit you: by state, by size, by major, by public vs. private.
2. Steal the criteria, not the order. The factors behind a ranking (affordability, class size, graduation rate) are more useful than who landed at #1. Note which ones you keep nodding along to as you read about them across different lists.
3. Look past the headliners. Some of your best-fit schools may never crack a national top 10. Lists for hidden gems, small colleges, or your region can surface options you may not have even considered.
4. Turn it into a shortlist. Once you know what you’re weighting, build your own ranked list of schools and consider visiting them to get an even better feel for fit.

That last online step is where College Raptor’s College Match Tool can help narrow your decision either before or after a campus tour. Answer a few questions about what you want in a college: location, size, cost, majors, etc., and it builds a personalized list that ranks schools by your priorities. It’s an incredible way to turn “here are the top colleges” into “here are my top colleges.”

What matters most in your college search if not rankings?

If a ranking isn’t the final word, what is? What you want out of the next four years is your final word. Rankings can’t measure some of the stuff that shapes your day-to-day, like:

• Fit and feel. Can you picture yourself there? Big-school energy or a tight-knit community? Touring campuses is a critical step in the college planning process.
• Your academic strengths and priorities. A school ranked #40 overall might have the #1 program in exactly what you want to study.
• Net price and financial aid. The real cost to you is what you will pay after aid, not the sticker price.
• Support and outcomes. Advising, internships, career services, and whether graduates end up where you’d want to.
• The intangibles. Clubs, culture, traditions, the vibe you catch on a visit. If you can, go see it in person.

These are things that are difficult to measure with a number or a weighting scale. But you’ll feel the difference when you experience them. Use rankings to start building your list; use everything above to make your final decision about where to attend.

Start ranking your own “best colleges” list

College rankings won’t matter equally to everyone, and they shouldn’t. But they’re a valuable resource, especially when you’re just starting to look at schools. So use them as raw material: pull the factors that matter to you, toss the ones that don’t, and start building your college rankings list. And you can make YOUR list official with College Raptor’s College Match Tool. Just answer a few quick questions about what you’re looking for, and it’ll help you rank schools according to your personal criteria.