But that really isn't necessary. All you seniors who have done well in high school and your parents, listen up. Over the next 900 words, I can tell you what you need to know or more likely remind you of what you already know. First, let's talk about what you get from magazine rankings. The rankings they provide are designed first and foremost to sell magazines not to be an honest evaluation.
Universities improve or degrade at glacial speeds.
Even if meaningful quantitative distinctions could be made, true rankings would change very little from year to year. Magazine rankings change every year because the formulas magazines use in their evaluations are purposely altered every year. As a result, every annual issue contains an arbitrary reshuffling of the top 30 colleges and universities. No one would buy the magazines if the rankings were static. The fact is that for the 30 or so top-notch colleges and universities in the country the quality of instruction is virtually indistinguishable.