“Furman University it is.” Late last May, I posted this on Facebook, and I knew that immediately most of my Facebook friends would flock to the U.S. News and World Report website to find out what Furman’s rankings were.
We live in a busy age where we are bombarded by hundreds of often meaningless choices, and to make those decisions effectively we place a premium on simplicity. We want to know information, and we want it delivered concisely for our own convenience. Clothing items have little tags that tell about the material used to make those objects and how to best care for the clothing — succinct and accessible. The drive-thru allows customers to buy food without having to get out of the car — quick and easy. The nutrition facts printed on the side of any contained food sold in grocery stores — as simple as turning over the can. The small number identified as a “ranking” in a magazine or on a website — concise and easy to access.
But choosing which college to attend should not be a simple and straightforward decision. There is so much information to process in determining the worth of a college that no one can reduce that value to a single number or percentage. Median SAT/ACT scores, founding year, professor to student ratio, percentage of freshman who return — these numbers are all subject to interpretation. A low median SAT/ACT score may not mean that the college lacks intelligent students. It may be that these scores are optional in the admissions process. Numbers and data have to be interpreted and understood, not simplified. Can a single, magic equation that pumps out a single, comprehensive number really trump human perspective and judgment?
Education is a deeply personal experience, not a competition. A college should be a fit, not a badge. Students do not pin a college on themselves; they immerse themselves in the social and academic life of the college, allowing that environment to help them grow as a person. A student who bases their college selection solely on rankings may enroll at an institution that fails to support what they want to study or fails to support them as they grow into the person they want to be. A college known for its music department is unlikely to be able to support a science major as much as a science-oriented college. An extroverted student entering college where grades set the social norm might be a bad fit. As a common Asian proverb says, sometimes it is better to be the head of a snake than to be the tail of a dragon.
This entire argument may seem relevant only for high school seniors making decisions about their futures, but there is room for all of us in this discussion. Inevitably, we are all connected to rankings in one way or another, whether as college students looking to attend graduate school or as people surrounded by others who like to either brag or complain about Furman’s current ranking in relation to other schools. Our personal success story is what matters, something numbers or rankings cannot measure or predict.
