Why does “reputation” play a part in college rankings?
Seriously, US News and World Report polls professors and other people in education to ask them what they “think” the best schools are. Does no one else see the potential for a positive feedback loop? Say a whole bunch of people start to think X University is great because its rank has gone up (for whatever reason) and happen to encounter our dear professor, s/he then has a better view of the place and votes for it to go up in rank. • Because even if you get exactly the same curriculum, having “Harvard University” on your resume is better than “College of Neverheardofit”. Potential employers aren’t going to conduct a comprehensive assessment of your real education; they’re going to look at that name. Which means that all things being equal, Harvard is the better school to go to. • The ranking systems for Schools are totally gamed by the colleges in order to improve their standing. At the Law School level, many schools will send out application fee waivers to generate more applications w
