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7 Reasons Why University Rankings are Worthless to You

Almost every student thinks that selecting universities based on rankings is the only way to select schools in the U.S. But the very same students have no clue on how university rankings are calculated.

The first time a student searches for universities, that student will do one of the following:

  • Electrical Engineering Universities Rankings
  • GRE Scores for MIT and Stanford
  • Top 100 Universities in USA
  • Top 50 Universities for Computer Science with aid

You just have to free your mind and think.

At end of this article you will understand the actual facts.

University Ranking Limitations

  1. College and University rankings don’t measure exactly what’s important to you.
  2. Rankings are calculated based on surveys.
  3. Survey respondents’ responses don’t always reflect all the facts. It’s their opinion.
  4. Surveys can be easily manipulated.
  5. Survey respondents say why they think something is good, bad, it’s strengths and weakness. That doesn’t reflect what you are looking for.
  6. Do you really know what you are looking for?
  7. Do you really know what separates a university ranked 10th and that ranked 50th?

What is Important to You?

US education is very expensive. So, saving money for education is the primary focus for any student.

Many believe that studying at top ranked universities will guarantee them part-time jobs, financial aid and high paying jobs after graduation. That’s not the case most of the time.

But being Top Ranked is a subjective term. Do you agree? If your GRE is 1,100, you look for top ranked universities for that score.

Because you know, with a GRE score of 1,100, you are not going to get an admit in engineering programs at MIT, Stanford, etc.

So stop using the university rankings system and start doing some real work to select universities that are right for you.

What if you apply at a university ranked 89th and end up getting full financial aid with admission [$20,000 stipend for each year] and after graduation you got a very high paying job?

If this happens, will the university ranking still matter to you?

What do You really want?

Find out what do you really want to do in life.

  • Do you want to study master’s in a specific area and work in that area?
  • Do you just want some degree and job so you can get to live in America?
  • Are you forced to go and study in the U.S., since all your relatives and friends are in the US?
  • Do you really know what possible courses and majors you can study? For example, if you have completed biotechnology, most of you want to do a master’s in biotechnology or molecular biology. Have you really explored what else you can do?

There are lot more questions you need to ask yourself. Once you have the answers, it will be much clear for you to select universities.

You may want to work on a specific area and course related to that offered only in a university that’s ranked 75, what would do?

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26 Comments

  1. Very nice article..highly informative
    however I have a doubt..
    There are certain universities which are not ranked even in the top 100..but some of these have very good reputation..and are also quite cheap compared to many other universities.
    For example San Jose state univ ..
    Is it a safe bet opting for such universities?
    I have a pretty good score (1340 in gre and 70% aggregrate) n I m sure I can get into better ranked universities.
    But from the info I gathered I felt sjsu is a better deal
    what do u suggest I do

  2. THATS GREAT WORK SIR

    CAN U PLZ ASSIST ME..

    GRE————-450(VERB) 750(QUANT) AWA–NOT YET RECEIVED

    TOEFL ———-NOT DONE…

    BRANCH —INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

    WANTED TO PURSUE MS IN CSE..

    WHAT COLLEGES(AS I AGREE WITH U SIR THAT RANK IS NOT IMPORTANT..) CAN I GET FOR THIS PROFILE…THOUGH IAM GOING TO A CONSULTANCY

    HE'S IS'NT GOOD AT ALL

    ..I HAVE TO BEAR MY EXPENSES OVER THERE..PLZ HELP ME..

  3. sir,
    i want to know the top universities for doing mastet's in phamaceutics in canadian universities,,after b.pharm in india,so plz give me some information on it

  4. hi sir,

    university of bridge port,New haven,feris state university is a good college to do masters in cse.

    can u guide me for some colleges with less tution fees
    which are good for ms in cse @ networking.

  5. Nice Info. i mean your effort in finding what students actually face during the application procedure is true to 100%. this has helped me understand what actually we should look in the university apart from its name. I have one doubt i would be grateful if cleared. I have received 2 admits for Biomedical Engineering 1st is Virginia Common Wealth Univ. and another is Wright State univ. i am in fix as they are not so high ranked so if i have to choose which one should i try for…

  6. Hi, it`s the first time i`m visiting your blog and i found it sooo useful.I have a question. I want to study in new york city.I really love this city and i fell like i can`t live in any other city in united states.As a matter of fact it`s march 2010 and i lost the deadlines for fall 2010 i think….please help me if there is any possibility to apply for fall 2010 or at least for spring 2011. and if you know some universities that still accept applications from international studetns for fall 2010 , please inform me.i don`t wanna lose time more.

      1. thanks for the answer but i couldn`t find any among the NY universities…I mean the good ones ! is ther any?! that you tell the name for example?!

        1. I have another question. i have overall 7 in IELTS academic but most of the universities want TOEFL. is it a firm rule or they will accept IELTS?! because it takes time to register for TOEFL and IELTS in my country.and i wanna apply with my IELTS

  7. Hi . I'm applying to NJIT and thus article really helped me understand Why we shud not always decide based on rankings. Having said that I read in a reply elsewhere on HSB that NJIT is not a good choise, can you please elaborate on that point. Im applying for MSSWE program, Thank You

  8. Nice article, you really took your time in analyzing the problems mostly encountered by students.

    be blessed.

  9. This is terrific i was thinking about this question.Why would i like to study in America and what do i really want to do in life

  10. You should make one change to your articles :

    MIT doesn't require any GRE scores. Moreover it only admits phd students, it does not admit MS applicants

  11. very good article… this article will definitely make a U.S aspirant to think “what he want to become– what for he’s going to U.S”

    1. I wish it could be more elaborate. The content is very meaningful and very true.Would love if this could be propagated to many more students who want to study in the USA.

  12. Yes.. Exactly reflects my opinion of selecting the Universities.. I wud also advice students to give the 'financial requirements' a good priority and then look into their websites to know in which specific ares they are specializing in.. Then shortlist them according to the matching interests.. Location, part-time jobs and aid are few things to consider..

  13. Hello Sir,

    Thanks for the info…

    I have been following your posts since last four months and have got to learn about most of the facets of GRE and admission process.

    Sir, I am also applying for Fall 2010 for MS in Computers Science with concentration in Networking/Cybersecurity. Sir, I have a Permanent Resident of US and

    till now I have filed my application with following universities:

    IIT

    Uni of Illinois-Chicago

    George Mason

    Stevens Inst of Tech

    Wright State Uni

    Cal State Uni, LA

    Oklahoma State Uni

    Missouri Uni of Science & tech

    I want to apply in one more University but I am unable to find my area of concentration, and if I find in any of the uni then either the uni is high ranked or all the more unranked(Happy School Blog CS Rankings).

    Sir, the place where I am lagging is my GRE score , 1000 only. Just had a bad GRE day.

    Toefl – 96

    Undergrad – 73.2% (BE honors)

    made 3 projects and have given 4 seminars. Active member whether be it sports, NGOs or College.

    I am in a big big FIX where to apply cause I am not sure that with such a despicable GRE score I would even meet the minimum requirements of any high ranked university.

    Kindly guide me with your kind advise and how can the PR status help me up!! Your kind favor will be highly indebted!!

    PLEASE HELP…

    Thank you

    Regards

    Tarun

  14. Very nice article. Pretty true also. Many of my friends are disappointed about their univ only because the polls show their univ ranking as 60th or 85th. Seriously one needs to have better insight about what they want to do.

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