New U.S. News Ranking out for SLP

[engrdad]

Link to new U.S. News rankings for Speech Language Pathology.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-health-schools/pathology-rankings

Changes to schools of my interest were:

Vanderbilt #5 ==> #3

UNC - Chapel Hill #18 ==> #11

USC - Columbia #60 ==> #35

UGA #46 ==> #52

Only one that dropped in ranking was UGA.

[trina]

I wouldn't worry too much about the rankings. If you read the methodology, rankings are based "solely on the results of peer assessment surveys sent to deans, other administrators, and/or faculty at accredited degree programs or schools". Respondents are required to rate the academic quality of programs on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), and this is then averaged and ranked. The response rate was only 31% for the latest survey.

Yes, while that has some value, i.e. what some academics think, it really doesn't say that much about the program itself. And the differences in scores are so minor too. I would go to any accredited school that I've visited and liked, and heard good reviews about from students. After all, we're not talking about law school here. We're all going to graduate and find the same jobs regardless of the ranking of our schools. The only exception would be if you were interested in pursuing a PhD later.

Edited March 13, 2012 by trina

[kweaver]

I wouldn't worry too much about the rankings. If you read the methodology, rankings are based "solely on the results of peer assessment surveys sent to deans, other administrators, and/or faculty at accredited degree programs or schools". Respondents are required to rate the academic quality of programs on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), and this is then averaged and ranked. The response rate was only 31% for the latest survey.

Yes, while that has some value, i.e. what some academics think, it really doesn't say that much about the program itself. And the differences in scores are so minor too. I would go to any accredited school that I've visited and liked, and heard good reviews about from students. After all, we're not talking about law school here. We're all going to graduate and find the same jobs regardless of the ranking of our schools. The only exception would be if you were interested in pursuing a PhD later.

Trina,

Thanks for writing this reply. I'm currently trying to decide between 2 schools, who vary very marginally in ranking, and have been spending a lot of time thinking about how much a difference in rank really matters. It's refreshing to remember that regardless where most of us future slps go, we'll all be ok in the long run.

[engrdad]

Totally agree with Trina. The rankings are just one of the many factors to consider when selecting a school. It is probably one of the least important unless you plan on a Phd. However, it is one factor and when a school drops or raises significantly in the ranking, it makes you wonder why and, at least for me, prompts me to do more research. Perhaps they made a change to the program, added new specialties, etc. However, what I believe is most important (besides the mighty $$$) is the fit. Does the school feel right, does their style match your goals (i.e. medical, clinical, research, etc...)? Everybody has their own list of must haves, wants, and likes/ dislikes. The key is finding what suits you and your future goals. One thing my daughter did was to research the professors and see if she could find one that had similar interest to hers. She is very interested in language development among children with ASD. Each school that she applied to had at least one professor who had done research and/or written papers on this subject. This was one of her "must haves".