Questionable Science Behind Academic Rankings

Post by carbocation » Mon, Nov 15, 2010, 2:50 AM UTC

dhume wrote: post #9

carbocation wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, and this is why I distinguish college, which is a place that undergrads go for 4 years, from university, which is the larger institution as a whole. For certain characteristics of colleges, I believe it is fair to see students and parents as informed consumers; e.g., when considering cost and prestige, they probably do a good job. Without anything to substantiate this, I would also guess that students do a r…

I think GP was referring to the undergrad program. For what it's worth, I haven't met many students who knew much about their degree program's curricula or their general education requirements. Not knowing this makes them seem ineffective at evaluating the college. Given all the stories I hear of, for example, art students surprised that they cannot find jobs, I'm not sure I trust incoming students as estimators of e…

Post by Locke1689 » Mon, Nov 15, 2010, 4:42 AM UTC

carbocation wrote: post #2

While these publications try to rank universities, I engage in the smaller task of trying to rank undergraduate colleges: http://college.mychances.net/college-rankings.php The decision to rank them based on students' decisions of where to attend may be questionable, but at least the "science" is straightforward.

Post by carbocation » Mon, Nov 15, 2010, 6:21 AM UTC

Locke1689 wrote: post #13

carbocation wrote: post #2

While these publications try to rank universities, I engage in the smaller task of trying to rank undergraduate colleges: http://college.mychances.net/college-rankings.php The decision to rank them based on students' decisions of where to attend may be questionable, but at least the "science" is straightforward.

Is there a section where I, as a college student, can just add my statistics?

Post by Locke1689 » Mon, Nov 15, 2010, 6:54 AM UTC

carbocation wrote: post #15

Locke1689 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a section where I, as a college student, can just add my statistics?

Yes, definitely. It's a 2 step process that probably has way too much friction right now (and at some point soon I'll be asking HN for feedback, but that's not for right now). (1) Create for an account ( http://www.mychances.net/signup.php ). Once you confirm, it takes you into step (2) automatically, creating your profile and then letting you add the colleges that you got decisions from.