We the people are obsessed with numbers. We are trained to quantify each and everything. As an engineer that is a great practice to follow but there are some aspects which cannot be decided solely on the basis of numbers. I recently went through the tedious process of selecting a school for my graduate studies. This process was exhausting, especially for me considering the fact that I am a student from India who has no clue about the American education system or its universities. A lot of research went into the process in selecting the place where I will be spending the most important two years of my academic career.
The first thing any student would do to know more about any university is to check its ranking. The number written beside the name of the school creates such a strong impression about the school that it sometimes becomes the sole motivation to select that particular school. It is very natural to get deceived by numbers and to succumb to the ranking system. But students have to understand that rankings are not the best way to distinguish a good university from a bad university, as it is not a global distinction. Every individual has individual opinions and any one person’s opinion cannot be universal. The ranking organizations compare universities in many aspects, some could be relevant and some could be completely irrelevant to an individual.
Rankings use a weighted average approach to assign a score to each university and then are ranked according to this calculated score. This is not always the best approach as it considers many factors which are irrelevant for some students. For example, if there are two schools with equally good academic standards and equally good facilities, then the ranking system focuses on other aspects like the size of the swimming pool or the number of machines in the gym. These factors may be important for a swimmer or an athlete but not for every student. The parameters that make for a great college are not universal and differ from person to person and the rank should no way affect the school you want to go to. The college should perfectly fit you, the programs offered should match your interests, the campus and the people should inspire you, and you should feel like you belong to the community.
The U.S. News ranks Michigan Tech at 124 in their national rankings and the Times Higher Education ranks MTU at 184. Like all other students, I also succumbed to university rankings and was very skeptical in joining this university. After more than one month in Houghton, I can say that this university has offered almost everything that I need from a college. The coursework offered aligns with my interests, the research taken up inspires me to learn more, the facilities offered serve all my needs, and the community is welcoming. These reasons are valid enough for me to distinguish MTU as a good university and no number is going to change that opinion.
