US-Universities-Rankings-vs-Graduate-Program

Most of you know the popular US graduate school rankings are from USNews.com…students just go to the website or buy the rankings report and start applying ….Student psychology is such that, as soon as they see that a University is highly ranked, it is perceived that it is the best school for their program or research, etc…Rankings are very tricky. Though they give you some benchmark, they can be very misleading.  A university can be number one in rankings for certain degree, but may not be the best for your program. It may not have the research expertise for your interest.

What to look in Graduate program – MS or MBA ?

When you compare schools, you want to benchmark different universities based on variety of aspects like

    * How is the program designed ?
    * What are the core classes ?
    * what are your options for emphasis ?
    * What is the core focus of research at school ?
    * Do they have enough professors for research in your field ?
    * Do they have a special center or research lab for your area of interest ?
    * Does the school offer PhD in the research area you are looking for ?
    * What kind of research grants does the school have ? Do they have options for Research assistantships in your interested field ?

What to look in University apart from Program? College Athletics,  Location ?

Apart from the above questions, you may really want to look at many things like below and benchmark the schools.

    * How are the athletics in school ?
    * Does the school have a Football team (American Football) ?  Having a football team and going to game is so much fun. It is a celebration. Where do they stand in Football ?
    * What is the size of school ? Do they fall under Division one or Division two ?
    * How active is the campus life ? Student life on campus ?
    * Is the school situated in good city for Internships ?
    * How is the city life ?
    * How safe is the city or town ?
    * Opportunities for Jobs after graduation ?

Overall, the pointis , do not just get carried away by rankings…look at the things that are more important like your program and your overall college experience