Unfortunately, it can be pretty tough to reduce a college or university to simple numbers. This is especially true when it comes to undergraduate ranking. When you are considering a graduate school, looking at ranking can make a bit more sense. Graduate school ranking is important because most students will have already picked out their program and are looking at a specific course of study. With an undergraduate university, however, most students don’t yet really know what they are going to major in, and even though they may think that they have their whole career mapped out, most students will change their major at least a couple of times.

Although undergraduate ranking is an important piece of the puzzle when selecting a college or university, people often give it too much weight, and overlook other more important factors. Many students become obsessed with undergraduate ranking, and parents may also drive their son or daughter to succeed in order to meet certain minimum requirements. Undergraduate ranking can seem like one of the most important considerations to many students and their families.

But most students fail to consider other equally important factors, such as what kind of college they want to attend. Would they like to attend, for example, a small school or a large one? Do they prefer an urban location, or a school more isolated and separate from the city? What kinds of people would they want to associate with, and what kind of college environment would they desire? These are the types of questions that they should be asking, but they may instead focus primarily on undergraduate rankings. Another problematic issue is that many students will only focus on one particular subject or area of learning, and fail to consider overall strengths of the university’s programs as a whole. If the student wants to become a teacher, for instance, he or she may only look at teaching schools, and so on. This can work out okay, but what happens if, like many students, the individual changes to an entirely different career goal part way through his or her undergraduate program?

Rather than picking a school based strictly on good undergraduate ranking, find one with good all-around educational opportunities and the right atmosphere for you to succeed. College isn’t just another opportunity for education. It’s the time in your life when you really break out into the world, making friendships that will last a lifetime and connections that will be important in planning your future.

Don’t get me wrong – undergraduate ranking is still an important consideration – but it shouldn’t be the only one. Consider all of the facts, and most importantly, consider your own expectations. These may far outweigh the otherwise appealing numbers that look good on paper, but that may not tell the entire story.