What rankings do you look at?

[ashrj]

Is there any specific survey/ranking for universities, and particularly grad schools / research departments, that is considered better than others? Or used more?

[eeee1923]

Almost all rankings are biased in some form but the usual go to are the US News & World Report or http://www.happyschools.com/us-universities-rankings/(I like the latter since they provide both the survey based and regression based rankings). Also remember that all the top rank schools tend to be quite similar in terms of research facilities, endowments, etc. - so it comes down to research fit. Don't strictly focus on name recognition.

[quietedge]

Sorry to kind of change the question a little, but I've been wondering..

 

How much do ratings of grads schools matter? For example is it worth going to a program that isn't in the top 50 in your field? Or does it depend on what jobs you are planning to get after grad school?

[DartmouthTrav]

I look at QS and Times Higher Ed rankings for world ranks.  US NEWS only considers the American school model and isn't (frankly) worth a damn to the rest of the globe. It paints a skewed picture honestly. It puts some of the Ivy Leage colleges in the top ten when they wouldn't make the top 100 globally.

 

As far as worth of them I'd say look at what you plan to do with your degree. If you wish to teach in the USA you should aim for top 20 institutions. Most colleges out there will search to staff their faculties with the members of top 20 universities. But you can still work at a uni without needing to review rankings. If you do original work and find a way to interact with the field (members in other universities that are top scholars) then you will remain relevant and seen as such. The school's rep only extends so far. But if you are motivated and engaged with current scholars that are in you particular field you should be way way better off. 

 

It's bold and gutsy to do this but if you reach out without ego and in an inquisitive and respectful manner you may be surprised how readily available some profs and leader scholars are. The rank then of your institution comes second to your own motivations and work produced. 

 

Cheers.

[Octoberstormxx]

Where you go can really depend on what you want to do. Like if you wanted to be a surgeon, yes, I imagine going to one of the top fifty schools would probably be a good idea considering how competitive medicine can be.

 

However, if you're going for a degree that is less so demanding, it's not necessary that you choose a school in the top fifty. I personally, am going for an MFA degree in Creative Writing. I applied to a generous number of schools, many in the top fifty. However, I also applied to schools below the top fifty just in case because you never know what will happen. I figure if I spread out my chances I'll have better odds.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Octoberstormxx

[bhr]

I think it's important to talk to people in the field about how they view schools. The Ivies/Hopkins/Stanford/Northwestern are almost always in the top tier of rankings, but that doesn't mean that they are best for you at this time. In my field, for example, the top programs tend to be at the land grants (for a variety of reasons), and that is rarely reflected in the rankings.

 

Sub-specialties sometimes thrive in corners of academia that you wouldn't expect, and the ranking systems are rarely that detailed. Look at the jobs you want, figure out who is doing that work now, and look to see where they were hired out of (especially those in the last 5-10 years).

[Guest]

It depends on the field.

 

My ultimate career goal is to work for a US government Intelligence Agency. As a person who has a father on the admissions board for various government agencies (FBI, DEA, NSA, etc), they can give less of a hoot of whether you went to an Ivy league or top school. My area of focus seems to go crazy over having foreign language skills and international travel experience than an advanced degree. Right now, my mindset is to get into ANY Masters program that on my list with funding.....no matter what is ranked.

 

I'm sure that some careers in that are not in the federal government sector will call for way different standards though.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Guest

[FoggyAnhinga]

I relied very little on US News or other website rankings of graduate programs - rather, I asked my former advisor and other professional contacts to seek their recommendations on good graduate programs in my field to narrow down my choices of schools to apply for (in the end the schools they recommended based on the professors they knew turned out to be well-ranked programs). I also used Google search, which is not always helpful, but you do end up with a wide array of webpages to various programs in your field. I tried to avoid any graduate programs with websites that appear outdated (e.g. past deadlines), poorly designed/not easy to navigate format, and have insufficient information regarding admission, deadlines, etc. 

[.letmeinplz//]

I used to visit a site that would rate universities based on criteria you would select (like amount of publications, research activity, etc), but I haven't been able to find it again...

[MidwesternAloha]

Depends on the field, but, be realistic and pursue programs that you actually have a chance at getting in.