In these weeks leading up to May 1, high school seniors and families are making final decisions about college next fall. Most will have some great options after a year or two of input from guidance counselors, teachers, older siblings, tour guides, parents and the vast collection of college rankings.
I will not add to the mountain of criticisms of college rankings. There’s little more that can be said beyond the rinse-and-repeat reality that the wealthiest schools show the best quantitative outcomes — from selectivity of admission to the number of alumni who donate each year. These expensive input factors buoy largely the same institutions to the top of the list year after year, decade after decade.
I’d like to turn some attention to important elements of success that can’t be measured with numbers alone.