What is a "top" college

I often hear people say that they want to attend a “top” college. The statement, however, begs the question, “top” at what? The entering students with the highest average test scores, the best football team, the students most involved in creating a better future? A recent New York Times articles discusses the increased competition for the colleges considered almost “top” based largely on the quality of the entering student body.

The article discusses a number of wonderful colleges that in the past were often easier to gain admission to than some of the Ivy League colleges. The article discusses how these “lesser” colleges are now getting more competitive and thus rejecting more of the students who are applying.

I think the thing to take from this article is that there are many excellent colleges in this country and just because you, or your neighbor down the street, hasn’t heard of one doesn’t mean it might not be a great choice for you. Once again, the major media is feeding into the hysteria of there only being 10 or 15 colleges in the country that are worth while attending and since they are so difficult to get into now, the rest of the students are forced to consider Pomona or Middlebury. I will admit that I am a fan of the liberal arts colleges and think that many of them, including these two schools, provide an education at least as strong as that provided at any of the Ivy League colleges.

But remember that there are approximately 3,500 colleges in this country, not the 10 or even 50 whose names are often mentioned in the national media. Each student should look for the best match for their particular needs, and the sole criteria for whether a college is good or not should not be the number of students they reject each year.