If you have any recollection of applying to college, you’ll remember the lists that claimed to put the top 100 “best colleges of the year” in perfect order. Despite the fame and allure of college rankings, they do not accurately assess the quality of schools’ education systems or predict students’ futures because the rating process is not holistic. To make things worse, the rankings not only affect college applicant’s decisions but also impact the reputations, futures and morale of current college attendees.
According to US News and World Report’s list, BYU is ranked number 62. So students, don’t put too much stock in college rankings, and never let them make you feel ashamed of attending BYU.
The rankings ignore many important factors that determine the quality of a university. College assessors can’t numerically judge the worth of a trip to the Louvre or a summer internship at Disneyland, which may provide the most valuable learning opportunities. Additionally, by overlooking college atmospheres, rankings undervalue schools like BYU, where the community suits the students and helps them succeed. Many argue that highly ranked colleges are superior because of their academic statistics, yet GPAs and ACT scores are not perfect measures of intelligence. BYU graduates are often just as successful as Ivy League graduates.
If you feel inadequate in comparison to, or intimidated by, people who attend “the best” colleges, I have some advice: don’t. We should be proud to call ourselves Cougars, no matter where we fall on a flashy list.
Victoria Beecroft
Belmont, Masachusetts
