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Podcast: The College Prep Podcast
Episode: 447: How College Rankings Hurt Students
Description: College rankings have been in the news again. Columbia University fell from #2 to #18 after lying about student data. Rankings are flawed and rarely reflect families’ college priorities, but they captivate audiences and continue to drive admission decisions at colleges and universities.
What’s more important is the effect rankings have on students. Megan and Gretchen discuss how rankings hurt students. They consider a variety of factors:
Rankings mislead families by presenting as fact a calculation of “quality”. This creates impression that there is a “best” (and worst).Rankings lead colleges to act in ways that protect their rank a...