Rankings' sway varies for potential students

When Susan Myers began her college search, she reached for an old copy of her mom's U.S. News & World Report to look for business school rankings.

Like many prospective students entering the increasingly competitive college application process, Myers - a high school senior from Blacksburg, Va., who recently toured UNC - turned to rankings to decide which school might be right for her.

But with a wide range of rankings available to consumers, it can be difficult for students to know which to use - if they should be used at all.

"I think our culture's obsessed with this ranking thing," said Steve Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions. "People like lists."

Magazines and college guidebooks rank facets such as academics, social life and political orientation. Each uses its own method to come to conclusions.

The National Bureau of Economic Research recently released a study that approaches university rankings as a tournament.

Researchers gathered data from the final college choices of 3,240 high-achieving high school students. The institutions that students chose are ranked from top to bottom.

The Princeton Review's "Best 357 Colleges" provides 64 lists that rank schools in various categories - 60 of which are based entirely on surveys of current college students who grade their schools in categories ranging from political views to social outlets.

The goal is to help students and families find the best fit, said Erik Olson, the publication's senior editor.

"There really is no best college in America," he said. "But there is a best college for you."

But it's hard to tell how much stock students and administrators should put in the listings.

Sarah Bailer, a high school senior from Oxford, Ohio, who recently toured UNC, referenced the rankings in Newsweek, but - unlike Myers - said they have not played a critical role in her college search.

"I don't think you can actually say 'this (college) is number one' by just looking at them," she said. "They are more of kind of a guideline."

On the contrary, Myers said she is considering UNC because the Kenan-Flagler Business School received high marks.

Myers' opinions fall in line with many students - undergraduate or otherwise - who are looking into professional programs.

Allison Adams, a communications consultant in the business school, said rankings are important because they are published in magazines that prospective students read such as Forbes, which recently named UNC as No. 1 in the 25 most entrepreneurial campuses.

"People are looking for information to make good choices," she said.

But Adams warned that rankings can be confusing if users are not informed. "You can't compare one survey to another because it's apples to oranges," she said.

Farmer also said rankings provide more harm than help when used alone.

"Any ranking inevitably distracts from what they're trying to show," he said, explaining that numbers cannot illustrate the entire picture or atmosphere of a school.

Farmer said he and his colleagues tell students to use the rankings as a reference but stress the importance of looking beyond them.

Regardless of the perceived drawbacks, it is clear that rankings are here to stay.

Farmer said, "One way or another, we're stuck with them."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.