On March 27, 2023, Quoctrung Bui, New York Times Deputy Editor, Opinion Graphics, shared a new college search tool that was developed to address deficiencies in college rankings. They shared, “besides exceptional academics, what we wanted was something that was affordable and close to home, had a large athletic program and would set us up for a job that paid well after graduation. These are details that most rankings just don’t (or can’t) take into account. For example, the country’s most famous list, by U.S. News and World Report, includes none of those factors in its methodology.”
The tool uses data from three sources: the U.S. Department of Education via the National Center for Education Statistics and the College Scorecard, Niche.com and Opportunity Insights. The data is from the Department of Education unless noted otherwise.
This tool allows you to design your own college rankings: You tell them what matters to you and they will generate a list of schools that best matches your priorities. Try the tool here.