Forbes Magazine will unveil its annual list of the nation’s top 300 colleges in its Aug. 12 issue, including schools like Stanford University, Princeton University and surprisingly in second place, Pomona College.
Forbes Executive Editor Michael Noer told msnbc’s Alex Witt on Saturday that the rankings list is measured by educational outcomes, not reputation.
“We look at how well [students] rate their experience like teacher evaluation, graduates in four years and low levels of debt… Regional powerhouses like Pomona do very well on our list,” he says.
It’s very difficult for incoming students to get into these top colleges, but schools also face stiff competition. Some even resort to lying, Noer said. Bucknell University, Emory University, Iona College and Claremont McKenna College are the four that have been taken off the Forbes list for two years for lying about the quality of their student body to the federal government. “A small move in rankings could mean quality and quantity in applicants,” Noer explains as to why these higher educational institutions are tempted to lie.
The magazine editor suggests that today’s brand-name society should broaden its tunnel vision outlook on higher education and look more into institutions like Pomona College. “You don’t have to go to Harvard, you don’t have to go to Yale. You can get an amazing education, maybe for less money elsewhere.”
Maria Perez