The American Community College

2425 WordsJun 22, 201810 Pages
It is difficult to imagine a college bound senior making the big decision on where to attend college without the help of college rankings and family influence. Making such an important decision requires heavy research for the college bound student, and it is no surprise that college rankings are one of the first places students look for advice on their future school. Many high school seniors are concerned with the rankings, the “image”, or school pride associated with colleges. As seniors question which school is the best and strive to meet the admissions standards that seem to continually increase, it is important to question whether or not the quality of education is better at colleges with higher rankings and admissions standards. The…show more content…
Although a seemingly long list, these qualities reflect realistic traits of colleges that are more important to the future of the student rather than the selectivity and rankings of colleges and the intelligence of the admitted students. Many students, parents, and teachers hold that rankings and admissions standards are important when selecting a college and deem that the higher a college is ranked, the better quality of education it provides. There also is a belief that there is a positive correlation between rankings and its’ ability to predict the quality of education such as, “the harder it is to get accepted into a school means that it is a better school and will provide a better education”. The historical context and prestige of a college also is thought to contribute to it being a better school because it would appear to be well established. Using the three main Florida universities, University of Florida (UF), University of Central Florida (UCF), and Florida State University (FSU), and the assumption that rankings DO predict the quality of education, it is believed by many that UF offers the best education, then FSU, and lastly UCF. Many students believe that rankings are important when selecting a school
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