College Planning Blog

It is that time of the year to play the college rankings sweepstakes. U.S News & World Report is promoting its “America’s Best Colleges 2009� (available in print on August 22) and Forbes.com, a newcomer to college rankings, released its version of “America’s Best Colleges� on August 13.

Other ranking guides are sure to follow as editors can’t wait to ply the “science� of their surveys on an audience of consumers eager for a scorecard that quantifies the mythical pecking order of colleges.

Before you get out your credit card or rush to printout a list of the “best� colleges, take a moment to ask yourself three questions:

1. Who is defining the “best� and what does it mean for me/my child?
2. What do the editors of ranking guides know about me/my child?
3. Where is the evidence that rankings will make a difference in our college planning outcomes?

Let’s take a closer look at the importance of each question.

1. Who is defining best and what does it mean for me/my child? Don’t assume that there is a universal application of the term—and don’t assume the definition you are being given by editors is the most appropriate. References to the “best� in any context are heavily value-laden and are offered from the perspective of the person making the statement. Be discriminating. Know that the definitions of “best� that are thrown around to sell magazines may not—and, in fact, should not—be the beginning point for your own definition.

2. What do the editors of ranking guides know about me/my child? Where, for example, do they talk about the colleges that are best for the bright but timid student who wants to study classical archaeology or the student who learns best through engagement in the classroom or the young person whose sense of self and direction is still emerging? Despite editorial acknowledgments that the choice of a four-year undergraduate education is “one of the biggest decisions a typical American family can make� what tangible take-aways do college rankings offer that apply to your situation?

3. Where is the evidence that rankings will make a difference in our college planning outcomes? More specifically, you need to ask yourself, “What’s in it for me?� Unlike the purchase process with regard to other commodities (cars, appliances, etc.), the ultimate choice of a college is the product of a mutual selection process. Rankings don’t get kids into college nor do they point you in the direction that is best for you. This is illustrated by the inevitable headlines in early April that read, “Record Numbers of Talented Students Rejected at Top Colleges.� Who is really being served when the effect of ranking guides is to shine a brighter light on a handful of institutions that already turn down 80-90% of their applicants?

The college-going process has been turned upside down by ranking guides. Whereas the focus should be on the kids—and what is best for them—college ranking guides put the focus on destinations that are presumed to be desirable. The rankings are artificial metrics for quality in education that detract from sensible, student-centered decision-making.

Herein lies the disconnect. If ranking guides are truly useful to consumers, why do so many students apply to schools where the chances of gaining admission are less than one out of four? And where is the usefulness of college ranking guides when barely half of the students entering college this fall will graduate from any college in 4-5 years?

There are no shortcuts or easy substitutions for thoughtful and reflective research in the college planning process. The choice of a college is one of the most important decisions in the life of a family. Avoid unhappy outcomes by establishing the student, not the destination, at the center of your deliberations

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Contact me at Peter@TheAdmissionGame.com for a free copy of “Seven Tips for Interpreting College Rankings.� In addition, my book, Winning the College Admission Game, (available in the TAG Bookstore, online at Amazon.com and in bookstores) gives students and parents strategies for working together to find and gain access to schools that represent the best fit for the student.

The countdown to college is nearing a dramatic conclusion with the approach of the May 1 Candidates’ Reply Date—the date by which admitted students make their enrollment intentions known. For high school seniors it’s almost over. Despite months, if not years, of contemplating the possibilities, though, the final choice of a college remains elusive for many. For some, arriving at a choice is a matter of reconciling practical matters such as cost and distance. Others, however, will go “down to the wire� trying to figure out which of their available options is the best.

If you are familiar with my student-centered orientation to college planning, you will know what is coming next: The definition of “best� should reflect less the name, reputation and ranking of an institution and more the qualities of an educational experience that fit you best.

Not long ago, my wife shared the following story with me. As is the case with so many parables, the author of this one is also unknown—at least to me. And, while its message may speak to each us, I was struck by its relevance to young people as they contemplate their educational futures. You may have come across this story before, but I hope you will read it again within the context of the choice of a college.

“A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups—porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite—telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When each of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and, in some cases, even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups. Now consider this: ‘Life’ is the coffee. The jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain ‘Life,’ and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.â€�

Wherever you are in your journey toward college, be sure to keep the “coffee� in mind as you think about what is best for you. After all, you are consuming the experience, not the place. If you become too focused on the “cup� you will lose sight of the factors that define the quality of your life. Be true to yourself. As you work on your own “brew,� focus on your priorities—the factors that have guided you through your college search—and concentrate on identifying the best fit. Choose well and make the best of your experience. Enjoy the coffee!

For families of students recently admitted to college, the weeks immediately following the arrival of the “thick” envelope are a time to re-focus on the final choice of a college. With a May 1 enrollment deadline looming, important decisions must be made. After months, if not years, of researching options and “shopping” for the best “fit,” it is time to determine which opportunity represents the best investment. It is also a time when the cost of attending comes more sharply into focus. The following, then, are thoughts to ponder as you engage in a cost/benefit analysis of your college options.

The first thing you need to do is revisit your priorities. Why are you going to college? You know it is going to happen–the only question is “Where?” In order to figure that out, you need to make sure you know what you expect to get out of your college experience. Specifically, what are the three things you want to accomplish by the time you graduate from college four years from now? Use these priorities to guide you further in choosing among the colleges that accepted you. Which of them provides the best opportunity to achieve your goals?

Next, you and your parents need to determine what that opportunity is worth. Start by looking at the price tags. What is the comprehensive cost of attendance at each school? This number is important if you expect to be a full-time, residential student as it will include room, board, and related fees–on top of tuition. Many schools will report the cost for each semester. Be sure to calculate the total for the year if that hasn’t already been done for you. Does the value that is attached to achieving your educational goals justify the cost of attending a given institution? In answering the question, be careful not to correlate price with the quality of the opportunity, as in doing so, it is easy to lose sight of your priorities.

If you applied for financial aid, sit down with your parents to compare the various financial aid awards or “packages” you have received. Your first question should be: “What will be my family’s degree of financial exposure at each school?” How much do we need to come up with out of pocket and can we manage it? The second question must be considered within the context of each college: “Will my experience as a student and the likely outcomes (earning potential) merit this level of financial exposure?” In other words, what is the value proposition for you in attending that school?

If you are fortunate to have received scholarships or financial aid from any of these schools, subtract the amounts of the gift aid (you don?t need to work for it or repay it) from the cost of attendance for each school. The remaining balance is your expected family contribution (EFC). The award letter may even include references to possible sources of these funds (cash from earnings and savings, educational loans, campus work study jobs, etc.).

You need to be discriminating in your evaluation of the award letters. Some may present seemingly generous packages that are much less robust when you subtract the amount of self-help (loans or work study) you will need to assume. It is important that you compare the actual EFC for each institution. Resist the temptation to compare financial aid awards or the amounts of scholarships received. Taken out of context–without regard to comprehensive fees–a relatively large scholarship at one school may still leave a greater EFC than is the case with a smaller scholarship at a school with a lower price tag.

Ideally, each college would respond to you with the same financial aid. That is not likely to be the case, though, because schools work with different pricing scenarios. For example, you may receive substantial assistance at a high-priced private college but not be eligible for much assistance at a lower priced state-supported university. Or two private institutions that appear similar to you might provide financial aid awards that are very different in terms of the amount your family is expected to contribute as well as the composition (scholarships or loans) of the awards themselves. Remember, each institution will direct its resources toward the students it values most.

That said, if you are confused by your financial aid letter or you see dramatic discrepancies between awards received from different schools, now is the time to seek clarification. While financial aid officers are not inclined to negotiate financial aid awards, they are usually willing to hear appeals based on new information. A few will even offer to match the offer of a competitor. While there are no guarantees associated with the appeal process, you have nothing to lose by asking.

Note to Parents: Most successful appeals are driven by data, not emotions. If you initiate an appeal, remember that you are seeking clarity and fair treatment. You cannot, however, expect or even insist that your student is entitled to anything more or less.

Stick to Your Priorities
In assessing relative value, then, look at each college option within the context of what you are getting in exchange for your investment of time and money. Be careful not to confuse the prestige or ranking of an institution with the strength of the academic opportunity you are seeking. Your success in life beyond college will hinge much more on how you take advantage of your undergraduate experience than on the name of the institution you choose to attend. Again, stick to your priorities. If you have been diligent about searching out learning environments that fit you well–a program that meets your needs, a style of instruction that is consistent with the way you like to learn, and a degree of rigor that is commensurate with your ability and preparation–you will find the best educational investment value for you.

Additional tips for assessing value among your college options:

• If you have been offered a merit scholarship, make sure you are clear about the criteria for renewing it after your first year.
• Find out how each institution will apply the credit associated with any community-based scholarships you might receive to your cost of attendance. Some schools will reduce the amount of scholarship they are offering; others will reduce the amount of self-help (loans or work-study) in your financial aid award.
• Get a review of your potential college credits (AP, IB, courses taken on college campuses) as collectively they have the potential to reduce graduation requirements and, as a result, your out-of-pocket expenses.

Amidst concerns that college rankings have subverted the college planning process, a new tool is emerging that helps families find good college “fits.” On Monday, November 5, USA Today announced its plans to partner with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to reveal institution-specific data that measures the levels of student engagement with their undergraduate experiences.

According to USA Today’s Mary Beth Marklein, NSSE “seeks to gauge the quality of an undergraduate education by looking at how actively involved students are with their studies, professors and the campus community” with the underlying premise that the “more engaged students are, the more likely they are to learn.” For consumers about to invest in four years of an undergraduate education, this is a good beginning point in identifying colleges that represent good fits for their students.

The NSSE survey employs 85 questions that address various activities common to most learning environments. As Marklein reports, “Research shows that these activities, while not direct measures of learning, are associated with student success.” Students are asked to reflect on their experiences in five categories each of which produces a benchmark for the institution that can be compared with the national average for similar types of institutions. Categories include the level of academic challenge, student-faculty interaction and the extent to which a college offers an active and collaborative learning environment.

By utilizing the NSSE surveys, college and universities are able to produce a powerful set of data that defines the learning experiences on their campuses–data that can help shape refinements to their respective educational programs while providing valuable insight to consumers about the relative health of those same programs.

This kind of transparency into the educational process is both welcome and needed. In its absence, consumers have had little choice but to try and tease meaningful insight out of the various college ranking guides. The problem with the NSSE initiative, though, is that only a fraction of the colleges and universities want to play. While nearly 1,200 schools (roughly one-third of four year institutions in the U.S.) have participated in the NSSE survey at least once since 2000, only 250 have agreed to reveal their scores in the guide that USA Today and NSSE are planning to publish.

In my opinion, there are a number of reasons for this. Chief among them are cost and risk aversion. Participating institutions pay NSSE anywhere from $1,800 to $7,800 (depending on enrollments and other factors) in order to have the survey administered to their students. While this may not be a line item for many operating budgets, I find it curious that quite a few institutions spend much more than the amount of the NSSE participation fee on an annual basis to burnish their images/credentials in the face of scrutiny from the ranking guides. The greater issue for many, however, may well be the unwillingness to take the chance that the survey results may not coincide with the rhetoric of their promotional campaigns.

Nonetheless, it is important that you, as a consumer of higher education, take stock of this opportunity to look past college rankings and become well-grounded in student-centered college planning. Whereas rankings are often used to justify the transaction, the NSSE data gets at the real substance and satisfaction associated with education. Rankings attempt to quantify the mythical pecking order among colleges; NSSE quantifies the learning experience within colleges. If families are to make good, student-centered decisions about colleges, NSSE provides a welcome perspective on the question, “What do we get for our tuition dollars?” One can only wonder why more colleges aren’t willing to open themselves to this type of assessment.

To read the USA Today story in its entirety, go to :
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-11-04-nsse-cover_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Over the last week, I have had the good fortune of being able to talk about my new book, “Winning the College Admission Game,” with nearly twenty radio talk show hosts around the country. While no two conversations are the same, it seems that everyone wants to talk about college rankings, mistakes people make in the application process and the timing of the college planning process.

If you have read my postings last week, you know I am concerned with growing obsession on families seem to have with labels—and having the best. Not much has changed there except that I would urge you once again to look past the numbers to find the place that is best for you or your student. Rankings in and of themselves are not the issue. Taken to extremes, however, they become an intoxicant that affects the way you see the college picture and your place in it. I will refrain from saying more as this will be the topic of our first “Straight Talk About College Admission” teleseminar series on September 19 (9PM EST).

Talking about the biggest mistakes people make in college planning could take a while as there are plenty out there. For parents, though, it is often the inability or reluctance to turn the process over to the student. Quite often parents are consumed with the dreaming and scheming about college from the time their kids are born. And in some cases, they think they have figured out where the child will go to college and what they’re going to need to do to get him “in” before the he has begun grammar school! This becomes a problem for the student who at age 16 or 17 wants to become forming his own thoughts about college—and he has trouble finding his own voice in the matter. I talk about this in the first chapter of “Winning the College Admission Game” entitled “Adjusting to Life in the Passenger Seat.” In short, parents need to back off and students need to step up if college planning is to be productive in the long run.

Finally, talk show hosts are always curious to know when students should start thinking about and preparing for college. “When should this process start,” they ask. The answer is that students become candidates for college as soon as they set foot on their high school campuses in the freshman year. From that point forward, everything you do has a bearing on how you will eventually compete for admission. And I mention this not to create a panicked obsession with “doing all the right things” and packaging yourself for college. Bad idea! Don’t deny yourself a life well lived through your teenage years. Just understand that waiting until you are a junior or senior to find any focus in the classroom, or in life, can have a limiting effect on the college options you might eventually consider.

I suspect it shouldn’t surprise anyone that college rankings remain on the radar screen. Over the last week, I spoke with nearly 20 journalists about some element of the ranking process and its impact on families. The truth is that the more air time we give rankings, the more they seem to be validated.

Frankly, it’s not surprising that college rankings should be such hot sellers given the way so many families clamor for the “best” colleges. A growing number of folks, myself included, are concerned that this clamor is leading to behaviors that are counter-productive and unhealthy among colleges and consumers alike. Some are even lobbying for the unlikely commitment of educational leaders to withdraw from their involvement in the ranking process. I say unlikely because educational leaders and their institutions simply have too much at stake to pull out–a perspective I will explore further in the September 19 “Straight Talk About College Admission.”

In the meantime, the following is a letter to the editor that I submitted to a number of dailies last week. I would be interested in your reactions.

College Rankings Perpetuate Risky Notions
By Peter Van Buskirk

Another round of college rankings has hit the newsstands amidst growing concerns that they lie at the core of the frenzy that swirls around the college-going process. Has anything changed? Is this issue a better “mousetrap” than those that preceded it? Has the frenzy lessened? The answer is a resounding “no” to all of the above.

While much of the consternation and posturing about the rankings comes from campus leaders, it turns out that few are reticent when it comes to heralding the rankings as validation of their respective places among higher education’s best–whatever that means! Perhaps just as troubling is the media’s penchant for celebrating the results of “top-ranked” institutions at the expense of more thorough journalistic assessments of the ranking process and its troubling impact on students, families and our society.

It’s time to call this scam on the college-going public for what it is. In doing so, it is difficult to fault US News & World Report. Frankly, attempting to quantify the mythical pecking order of colleges for a consumer society begging for labels is a smart business move. “It’s the “sex that sells.” The problem is that colleges can’t seem to help themselves from feeding the results into their public relations machines and, curiously enough, the media find the phenomena newsworthy! It makes you wonder who is being served!

If there is an injustice perpetrated by rankings of any sort, it is perpetuation of the very risky notion that one place is quantifiably better than another. I say risky because many families believe, or want to believe, in the pecking order and they’ll do whatever it takes to get their young prodigies into the “best” colleges possible. As a result, we are seeing the emergence of a generation of young people programmed for college at the expense of lives well lived.

The irony is that success in any college search must begin with and remain centered on the student. And this is where the ranking phenomenon fails young people as they try to make substantive distinctions between colleges. Rather than creating a dynamic that supports a student-centered process, it reinforces an obsession with the destination. While purporting to reveal the “best colleges,” rankings fail to recognize what is best for the individual student.

With the next round of college ranking guides about to be released, including the annual U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges issue, it is important that families of college-bound students be well oriented to the rankings and how to get the most out of them. As a staunch advocate of a student-centered college planning process, Peter Van Buskirk, author of the new book, Winning the College Admission Game, offer the following tips for interpreting the college ranking guides.

A Guide To College Rankings
By Peter Van Buskirk
Author, Winning the College Admission Game

1. Don’t obsess on a number! Nothing in the ranking process is absolute. There is no such thing as the best college unless the term is used to describe the best college fit for a young person. For every student, there is a “best college.” It is important that students focus on finding and getting into the colleges that best suit their needs and interests rather than obsessing on a college because of its ranking.2. Use the rankings as a guide, not the gospel. College rankings are derived from a systematic, but unscientific collection of data from and about colleges and universities. While the data may prove useful, it can’t really be used comparatively due to vast differences between the culture, mission and politics of the institutions being assessed. For example, how can you compare testing profiles across colleges that vary greatly in terms of how they use (or don’t use tests) in the admission process?

3. The rankings provide a reference point for families as they triangulate on colleges in the search process. Readers should get what they can from the data and help their students fold that information into impressions they are gleaning about colleges from acquaintances (teachers, counselors, current students, recent graduates, professionals in the community) whose interests mirror their own.

4. Don’t change who you are to get into college. Too often families become fixed on particular college destinations, especially those with impressive rankings, and proceed to re-make the student into the image of what they think those colleges want. Rather than squeezing every hour out of every day in the pursuit of the perfect credential for the dream college, students should follow their passions in living the teenage years to the fullest.

5. Focus on the three W’s. College rankings frequently distract students from thinking about the things that are most important to them as they contemplate their educational futures. Students need to remain focused on the three W’s: who they are, why they want to go to college and what they hope to get out of the college experience.

6. Find the college that fits you best. Regardless of where it ranks, the best college fit for you will be one that:

• Offers a program of study to match your interests and needs.
• Provides a style of instruction to match the way you like to learn.
• Provides a level of academic rigor to match your aptitude and preparation.
• Offers a community that feels like home to you.
• Values you for what you do well.

7. Buy the magazine for the articles-they’re great! While it is best to approach the actual rankings with a jaundiced eye, the editors really have compiled an outstanding resource in the articles that wrap around the numbers. (The main reason the rankings change every year is that the editors keep changing the formula!) Check them out!

Peter Van Buskirk spent 25 years in college admission including 12 as the Director and then Dean of Admission at Franklin & Marshall College. The author of the recently released, Winning the College Admission Game, published by Peterson’s, speaks to high school groups around the country where is an active advocate of the student-centered college selection process. He lives in Lancaster, PA.

To contact Peter for inclusion in a story about college rankings or the college admission process in general, call 717-808-5462 or email him at Peter@TheAdmissionGame.com. Visit theadmissiongame.com.