12WHAT’S IN A NAME? UNDERSTANDING RATINGS AND RANKINGS

College ratings and rankings assess the “good,” the “better,” and the “best.” They are an inevitable by-product of higher education; if we’re paying for college with our money, our time, and our energy, we’d like to know what the “best” colleges are. And why shouldn’t we? Our time and energy aside, college tuition has grown at a faster rate than healthcare costs. Measuring the lifetime value of that expense is an incredibly worthwhile enterprise for the consumer, and we encourage you to investigate the data available about your intended major or career path and ideal colleges as thoroughly as you can before you sign on the dotted line. Throughout this book, we’ve repeatedly quoted a 2010 ...

Get The Financial Aid Handbook now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.