America is rankings crazy. Everyone wants to know how something compares and contrasts to something else. Graduate schools are not an exception. Each year, organizations and publications like US News & World Report put together categories and statistics and rank the heck out of graduate programs. If you've looked up graduate school rankings for comparison purposes, how can you best use the data provided? Here are some things to look at when you compare graduate school rankings.
- Consider what's important to you. Obviously, if a school is top-ranked in sciences, and you're going to be getting an MFA in theatre, that particular ranking is of no interest to you. But knowing what's important to you goes beyond justpicking a field of study. What are you really looking for? The best reputation? The best education for the price? The best small-sized school? If you go into your rankings search with a vague idea of what kind of program you want, you will likely only find vague answers. Before you start looking for the "best" program, find out what "best" means to you, then target your research accordingly.
You probably don't have only one criteria that's important to you, so - dare I say it - rank what your "dream program" should have. Then look at those respective rankings, say "best priced," "best Northeast school" and "best research department." Then see where schools fit along that list. Is one program near the top of each category? Hey, that might be the graduate program for you. On the other hand, if one program is highly ranked in some of your key categories, but isn't located in the Northeast, let's say, well, maybe you need to consider if location or good price is more crucial to you.
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Author: B. Danesco