Parents often ask about the benefit of college rankings in picking a college. Two articles released this week suggest rankings and guarantees of student success are hurting families as they look for colleges, rather than helping them.

Research presented at a conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education suggests that colleges trying to reach the #1 spot in college rankings pay a high price for trying to do so—they end up looking like every other college in the country, and that makes them weaker. (The Chronicle of Higher Education,http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/11/7010n.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en)

Faithful readers of this column (Hi Mom!) know I've always advised against the use of rankings, simply because the data used in these rankings doesn't help college-bound families answer the question “Is this the school for my child?” The answer to this question depends on a host of factors centering on the student's academic interests, their academic preparation, their socio-emotional needs, and their economic interests.

Since no ranking can possibly take these factors into consideration without knowing each applicant as an individual, the ranking of colleges as “the best” for every single student cannot help any student make an informed decision. Based on the conclusions of the article, rankings can actually make it more difficult for students to see the individual assets of each college, making it harder to answer the question “Is this place for me?”, and increasing the chances a student will make an under-informed college choice.

The second article from the Chronicle talks about colleges that guarantee success for all students. To quote the article, “the average student experience doesn't differ that markedly among institutions, says this year's National Survey of Student Engagement. Rather, the survey found, more than 90 percent of the variation in educational quality occurs among individual students on the same campus.” (http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i12/12a03001.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en)

In other words, the leading factor in a student making the most out of a college experience is how much the student gives to the college experience.

Does this mean it really doesn't matter where you go to college?Not quite. A big part of a student giving the most to a college experience depends on the match between the student's interests and needs, and the college's ability to meet those interests and needs—if a student is more comfortable speaking up in small classes, a college with lectures of 300 isn't going to psyche that student up for giving their all.

What the study does suggest is you need to focus on fit—a college that's right for you—rather than believe claims that a college will guarantee success for all students.It's certainly true that some colleges have reputations for being places where ambitious students make friendships that can take them places after college—but does that do you a lot of good if the school has an atmosphere that takes the ambition out of you?

Choosing a college means looking around and asking a lot of questions-- reading material, visiting campuses, sitting in on classes, and thinking about your future.If it sounds like there's a little more to it than reading a ranking and applying to someone else's idea of the “best” school, you're right, but you can do complicated things if you're focused—driving a car isn't exactly a breeze, but you can do that.With the right motivation and a little consistent work, you'll find more than enough colleges that will inspire you, challenge you, and take you to new places.Do that, and your college hunt will be the first step of many on your road to success.

It's always a privilege to hear from students once they've gone to college. Listening to their stories reminds me of how important it is to listen to your heart, make your best choices, and be ready for life's surprises.

Examples? Sure (with a few details changed to protect anonymity):

-- When he was still in high school, one of my students was torn between an in-state school and an out-of-state school. The difference in price was only around $2000, but then again, two grand is a little bit of money, isn't it?

The student longed to try the out-of-state college, and off he went. After the end of his first year, he was notified that he had made the Dean's list, and was going to receive a full tuition scholarship the next year—all that was left to pay was housing. He didn't apply for this grant, and didn't even know it existed—he just made the best college choice he could, worked hard, and there it was, waiting for him.

--Then there's another student who got into one of the most select English programs in the country. Like many freshmen, she wandered around campus the first day, looking for her classroom, and was a few minutes late when she finally wandered in. As the professor made a few introductory remarks, the student found her hand going up quite a bit, asking questions and making points no one else in the class had thought about—this was easy to see, given the instructor's facial expressions of approval.

At the end of the class period, the professor handed out the course syllabus, and my student was shocked to discover this wasn't freshmen English after all—it was a seminar for graduate students. It turns out the class she was supposed to be in was across the hall—she'd come into the wrong classroom—but when she went up to the professor to apologize, the prof refused to let her drop the class. She dropped the freshmen English class instead, and spent her first year in college swinging with the big boys and girls in graduate school.

These real-life stories remind me of a story that I think is part of an urban legend, but still pretty cool. A professor walked in to give the final exam to his Ethics class and announced “Any student who wishes to leave right now without taking the final exam may do so and earn a B in the class.” The room was a flurry of students walking over each other to get out, leaving a handful of students in the room. When the last door closed, the professor surveyed the room, looked at his remaining students, and whispered “Nicely done. You each get an A.”

In these cases and so many more, these students weren't pursuing college just to get in; they were pursuing college because life was calling them to do so, and listening to that call led them to great places they could never imagine. My wish for those of you packing for college is that you make that same choice every day, in college and beyond. My wish for those of you in high school is the exact same thing—you already have a life, and now is the time to give it a test drive. Getting into college is not a game, and neither is going there—it is an exercise of the heart, that builds lives that are strong with surprising opportunities.

Or, as the great golfer Gary Player said, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”