Thursday, 7 November 2013

America's Top Colleges 2013


Do college rankings matter? With the price of a four-year education approaching a quarter million dollars, it’s worth paying attention.
When future historians of U.S. higher education look back to when the ground really began to shake, they may well pinpoint 2013. They’ll see disruption in curriculum (towards STEM majors and away from traditional liberal arts) and delivery (from campus to online). They’ll track the problems of runaway tuition costs and student loan debt, shrinking state funding and class enrollment, and a humbling job market for most graduates. But they’ll also single out the rise of non-Ivy League, West Coast colleges.
Stanford UniversityFor the first time, the FORBES Top Colleges ranking has two non-Ivies at the top: Stanford University (No. 1) and Pomona College (No. 2). It is also the first time that two California schools take the gold and silver. The best state school in America is University of California, Berkeley at No. 22. Here is what makes this shift so significant: It may splinter the grip of the East Coast Establishment colleges and open up a more diverse, accessible portfolio of best schools for students.
The rapidly changing landscape in higher education is the theme of this year’s Top Colleges. For the sixth year, FORBES has partnered exclusively with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for College Affordability and Productivity(CCAP). What sets our calculation of 650 colleges and universities apart from other rankings is our firm belief in “output” over “input.” 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 and SAT scores. Our sights are set directly on ROI: What are students getting out of college. (See CCAP’s full methodology here.)
We look at factors that directly concern today’s incoming students (and their families) who will be footing a bill which has multiplied into the six figures: Will my classes be interesting? Is it likely I will graduate in four years? Will I incur a ton of debt getting my degree? And once I get out of school, will I get a good job and be a leader in my chosen profession? We pointedly ignore any metrics that would encourage schools to engage in wasteful spending.

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