IMPORTANT NOTES
As a reminder, here are the criteria and weights I used (data source in parentheses):
% of class sections with fewer than 30 students (Common Data Set)
Total number of class sections (Common Data Set)
First-year retention rate (Common Data Set)
Student diversity (Common Data Set)
Faculty diversity (Common Data Set)
% of full-time faculty with highest degree in their field (Common Data Set)
Do students think their professors teach well? (Princeton Review)
Are students happy with other important factors? (Princeton Review)
20%
20%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
1) The numbers to the right of each college’s name are the total score each received on my scale. Pay close attention to how small the differences in scores are between #1 and #100 on my combined list of liberal arts colleges and national universities compared to the differences between #1 and #50 on USNWR’s two separate lists–around 9 points versus 27 and 30. Nine points more accurately reflects the distances between colleges, which is critical to understand. There’s not nearly as much distance as many people think between the most selective colleges and others that many consider to be those colleges’ ‘safety schools’. This is true all the way down the ladder of selectivity to colleges that accept everyone who applies.
Fully understanding how small the differences are between different levels of selectivity makes it a lot easier to be disappointed but not devastated if not admitted to one’s first choice of school. [Note: For much more on how small the differences are, see Part 2 under the Presentation tab.]
2) Notice how different the outcome is if different criteria and weightings are used. I didn’t know what to expect when I began to gather data, and was very interested in how things came together. It’s kind of disorienting after so many years of looking at a list based on different criteria, and it emphasizes how important it is to use data relevant to your own preferences in order to avoid making decisions based on assumptions made by someone else regarding what matters in choosing a college.
Creating your own list allows you to share with others–who may have preconceptions about what the best colleges are–that the schools you’re applying to that they might think aren’t so great actually fit very nicely with your preferences based on the personal ranking you created. And there’s no need to share your formula with them if you don’t want to feel like you have to justify every decision you made. This approach is much less stressful than partaking in a process in which everyone assumes certain outcomes are universally more desirable than others.
3) In case you like the idea of creating your own list, I’m offering suggestions for sources of data and criteria you might consider on page 7 of this section of the website. I’ll keep adding more as I get time.
4) This list is absolutely not intended to compete with USNWR’s list. It’s based on my personal preferences and is intended only to illustrate the importance of each individual creating a list that is relevant to their own wants and needs.
You think it’s unwise to depend on the opinions of college students? Awesome! Make your own list.
You actually like bigger classes because you enjoy feeling anonymous and being able to skip class without the professor knowing or caring? Great! Make your own list.
You agree that diversity is important, but wouldn’t make it 20% of your decision? Fantastic! Make your own list.
You want to factor in net cost, or percentage of financial need met? Or maybe some subjective criteria like location or beauty of the campus? Weather? Vegetarian/kosher/halal food options? Whatever else is important to you? Spectacular! Make your own list.
Only you know what’s important to you in choosing a place to spend 4-5 years furthering your education, so only you should select the criteria upon which that decision is made.
Make your own list!
Here’s mine…..
1) U Chicago
2) Pomona
3) Northwestern
4) Scripps
5) Wellesley
6) Johns Hopkins
7) U Pennsylvania
8) Williams
9) Grinnell
10) Occidental
11) Carleton
11) Mt. Holyoke
13) Bryn Mawr
13) Vassar
15) Claremont Mc Kenna
16) Vanderbilt
17) Macalester
18) Colorado College
18) Emory
20) Smith
20) Yale
22) Northeastern
22) New York U
24) U Richmond
25) Haverford
26) American U
26) Barnard
26) Brown
26) Florida State
26) Trinity U (TX)
31) Tufts
32) U Southern California
33) Swarthmore
34) Duke
35) Rice
35) UC Santa Barbara
37) Boston U
37) Reed
39) Pepperdine
39) Pitzer
41) Harvey Mudd
41) Wesleyan
43) Amherst
43) Princeton
45) U Miami
46) UC Berkeley
47) Cornell
47) Santa Clara U
47) Skidmore
50) U Illinois
51) U Michigan
52) Stanford
53) Kenyon
54) UC Los Angeles
55) U Florida
55) U Texas
57) Bates
58) George Washington
58) UNC Chapel Hill
60) Colgate
61) Dartmouth
62) Bowdoin
63) Middlebury
64) Boston College
64) Carnegie Mellon
64) Hamilton
64) MIT
68) Fordham
69) Wake Forest
69) Dickinson
71) Franklin W. Olin
72) UC Davis
72) Brandeis
74) CalTech
75) Oberlin
76) Davidson
77) U Maryland
78) Gettysburg
79) SUNY Binghamton
79) UC San Diego
81) Holy Cross
82) Harvard
82) U Virginia
82) Washington College
85) Connecticut College
86) U Pittsburgh
86) U Georgia
88) Rose-Hulman
88) Tulane
90) U Washington
91) Case Western Reserve
91) Ohio State
93) Ithaca College
94) Purdue
95) Rensselear
95) U Wisconsin
97) U Minnesota
98) Lafayette
98) Villanova
100) Washington U in St. Louis
91.2
90.9
90.8
90.5
90.1
89.8
89.7
89.6
89.5
89.4
89.2
89.2
89.0
89.0
88.9
88.6
88.5
88.4
88.4
88.3
88.3
88.2
88.2
88.2
88.1
88.0
88.0
88.0
88.0
88.0
87.9
87.8
87.7
87.6
87.4
87.4
87.3
87.3
87.1
87.1
87.0
87.0
86.8
86.8
86.8
86.5
86.4
86.4
86.4
86.3
86.1
86.0
85.9
85.8
85.7
85.7
85.6
85.5
85.5
85.4
85.3
85.2
85.1
84.9
84.9
84.9
84.8
84.7
84.6
84.6
84.6
84.6
84.5
84.4
84.4
84.2
83.9
83.8
83.7
83.7
83.6
83.5
83.5
83.5
83.4
83.3
83.3
83.1
83.1
82.9
82.8
82.8
82.7
82.6
82.5
82.5
82.4
82.2
82.2
82.1