Hone Your Inner B.S. Detector
I think we all know how I feel about college rankings lists: unreliable. (That’s me being restrained and polite. Enjoy it now. It won’t last.) If you need to catch up, you can read this, this, this, and this.
What do we learn in high school these days? How to get into college. What do we learn in college? We learn how to learn and we perfect our inner bull**it detectors. If you’re in the process of choosing colleges, then you’re in high school and have less-than-precise bull**it detecting instrumentation.
Here’s a friendly tip: Even research scientists, the humans I’ve revered since I was six years old, are capable of dishonestly crunching their data to make their work more grant-worthy. Scientists, who spend their lives peeling back the layers to find the molecular structures of truth, will bend facts for money.
One could argue that scientists are at least doing it for more funding so they can continue to search for the truths of our universe, but whatever, it’s still dishonest. If they can lie for money, then no one should be surprised that most college rankings lists come from questionable versions of reality. Just something to keep in mind if you’re planning to peruse U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2011.
Posted by Alexa Harrington
Agreed. Rankings are unreliable. They do not take into account the best-fit relationship between the student and the school. Deciding which college or university to attend is a major decision that comes with a handful of headaches. Compare schools by considering what they can offer academically AND financially. Going heavily into debt for a degree without career prospects is dangerous: Check out this article for further insight: http://j.mp/9VWQhu
Free Open University and their Certification of Full and Complete Knowledge exceeds the standards of all the institutions list by US News and it is free of charge and open to all.
Lets just say that the truth hurts….but this is the only reality we have at the present. Our job is to sift through with a discerning eye and pick it out. Most everything in print funded by grants are “versions” that need to be boiled, skimmed, and further refined. I learned a long time ago not to take anything for its face value. However work was completed and has value even if it is inflated at times.
We just need to work with what we have and not try and tear it to pieces……..