Despite the fact that several U.S. colleges and universities removed themselves from this year's U.S. News and World Report rankings, Miami University still prides itself upon being ranked 27th in the nation of the top public schools.
"We are always pleased to receive public recognition as one of the strongest universities in the country," said Laurie Koehler, Miami's director of admission. "We are striving to excel so we provide the best possible education and co-curricular experience for our students."
According to the Aug. 27 issue of the U.S. News and World Report, in addition to being ranked 27th in the nation of top public schools, Miami has also been ranked 67th of the top public and private schools.
To get these rankings, U.S. News and World Report takes into consideration 15 different aspects of more than 1,400 colleges and then weighs each category. The schools are then placed according to their cumulative ratings, which are based off of what values are thought to be most important and what, in their opinion, students should be most concerned about. The highest weighted values include peer assessment, student selectivity, faculty resources, and graduation rates.
The rankings come out every year and are used by prospective students nationwide.
However, this year some schools decided not to be a part of the rankings, creating debate over the rankings' legitimacy.
"(There is a) small group of private institutions that have made a conscious decision to no longer provide data to the U.S. News and World Reports," Koehler said.
With not all schools participating, the numbers cannot be completely accurate and therefore schools should be looked at as a whole, not just as a statistic, explained Claire Wagner, spokesperson for the university.
According to Wagner, there is worry that some of the rankings are based solely on opinion and the majority of schools that chose not to participate in the rankings are private, smaller schools.
"There is concern that 25 percent of the rankings are based on university and college presidents' opinion, verses objective data," Wagner said.
According to Wagner, the debate over the legitimacy of the rankings can be overruled by a student's personal interest in the school and what else the college has to offer. This may include, but is not limited to, sports, clubs, religious interest, and Greek life.
"Rankings are a great starting point," Wagner said. "See what they say, make a little comparison and visit the place, and then make a decision."
Dan Caproni, a Miami first-year student, heeded such advice and did not look solely at rankings-he, in fact, discredits the legitimacy of such rankings.
"The whole ranking thing is kind of bogus," Caproni said. "I mean, it can tell you some things, but not the things that will decide where you go to college. Go (to the college) for yourself, look for a school that is well known for your major."
Furthermore, students recognize that rankings are not always entirely accurate.
"If I had known that the rankings were not completely accurate, I don't think it would've affected my choice," said Elena Klochak, sophomore at Miami. "I did look at rankings when I was applying to colleges but since the nationwide ranking system is inaccurate, then all of the rankings aren't completely accurate. Statistically, anyhow, nothing is 100 percent accurate."
Additional reporting provided by Laura Bryant.
