College Rankings
College Ranking Sites. [Note: These sources do not rank community colleges]
- Peterson's College Major Search Engine. Very useful! Type in the major that you are interested in, and Peterson's produces a list of colleges that offer that major. From there you can research each school in more detail.
- The Washington Monthly College Guide This new guide may be the "antidote" to the popular (but somewhat elitist) US News & World Report rankings. The Washington Monthly guide tries to assess how well colleges are serving larger educational goals, such as providing access and training to low-income students. It's certainly worth a look!
- The Princeton Review Best 378 Colleges The Princeton Review is much less traditional but also has usful, easy-to-read has information. Requires registration for full access to data.
- Forbes' America's Top Colleges This site is a little different. You might be surprised (pleasantly) by some of the rankings. Here's what Forbes says about their methodology: " We’re not all that interested in what gets a student into college, like our peers who focus heavily on selectivity metrics such as high school class rank, SAT scores and the like. Our sights are set directly on ROI (return on investment): What are students getting out of college?"
- US Department of Education College Scorecard The goal of this new US government site is to make it easier for families to find high quality college programs that they can afford. It's easy to use and allows "sorting" of colleges by various useful criteria.
- US News & World Report College Rankings Still the most traditional, influential and widely-known source for comparative rankings. However, US News tends to place greater value on criteria that favor old-line, private, ivy league universities.
Finding and Comparing Colleges
- College Results Online This online tool lets you compare several colleges using the same criteria.
Reality Check!
How much do employers really value a college education? How important is a college education in getting a good job? What do employers really think? You might be surprised! Read the report below from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
How much do employers really value a college education? How important is a college education in getting a good job? What do employers really think? You might be surprised! Read the report below from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- Report: "The Role of Higher Education in Career Development: Employer Perceptions" (.pdf download)