EDITORIAL: A top 10 finish

The magazine says Penn and Dartmouth are tied for seventh in he nation. But how much do the schools have in common? Dartmouth is a small liberal arts college, and Penn is a major research university. Surely a Dartmouth student who chooses a small-town campus would feel out of place at an urban school like Penn and vice versa. University President Judith Rodin is justified in saying the rankings aren't accurate and it's like "comparing apples to oranges in many respects." While Rodin said that after Penn slipped two notches last year to 13th, she reiterated her feelings this year even though she had achieved the Agenda for Excellence goal of cracking the top 10. The rankings' credibility is further diminished when universities jump wildly from one notch to another. Emory University, for example, propelled from 25th place in last year's list to ninth place this year. With such massive fluctuations -- in just one year -- the accuracy of the rankings is put into doubt. While the U.S. News list is not perfect, the magazine editors have taken educators' concerns into account in revising the rankings this year. The magazine is to be commended for rounding its scores, resulting in more ties between institutions. Grouping several institutions under one ranking is more realistic than dividing them by a 10th of a point. Besides, no student could really go wrong by attending any top 25 university. As much as University administrators discount the importance of the U.S. News rankings, this year's high school seniors will be reading the magazine and noting Penn's prestigious position among the top 10. As a result, the quality of the applicant pool will hopefully continue to improve. Although the value of the list can't be discounted, prospective students should take the rankings with a grain of salt. While Penn might be the seventh-best university in the nation, there is more to this school than just its ranking.