Find College Rankings

Americans love college rankings. We also love rankings for sports, entertainment, books, employers, and all facets of education. Keep in mind that colleges can manipulate the ratings, and that there are lots of great schools out there that are not in the top ten!

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Information about rankings and controversies.

Studying college assessment numbers involves more than looking at U.S. News and World Report, which, while informative and providing a framework, presents only a one-dimensional view. They are criticized for methods of analysis, and a strong indication of east coast bias. (For instance, Cal Tech is harder to get into than MIT, but you have to look elsewhere to figure that out.)

Other sources of information that really means very little in terms of academic excellence, are books about colleges rated by students, which are very popular these days, but again, subjective. Generally, the method involves one student writer from each campus, and while this individual's opinions may be helpful, these people are not in a position to judge the academic worth of a particular school. The are in fact, more likely to rank a school on "coolness" or trendy issues.

I can tell you for a fact that some of the schools ranked by these publications as being among the "top 100 schools" in the United States, aren't, if you are speaking academically. If you are speaking of "cool" then many of them get high marks for coolness.

College is a major investment and plays a major role in who you are and who you become, both personally and professionally.

Remember, you can get a good education at any of thousands of schools across the country.

Choose wisely. Be informed.

College Ranking Service: money, alumni giving, state schools

Links and Resources for College Rankings

• To search for rankings on academics, campus life, and other criteria, visit Santa Clara County Library College and University links.

More College Rankings Sites

Princeton Review.Ranking for best 361 schools

The Internet Public Library: college rankings, virtual college tours, minorities

A Great Site: Rankings by region, interest, majors, degree goals, and more

A Bibliography of Evaluation Sites

Cal State University, Chico Library Site: all kinds of national rankings and evaluations

Search colleges: (not to be confused with rankings pages)

Schools in the USA

The U.S. Department of Educations: HUGE database for information on more than 7,000 colleges

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