September 13, 2012
When U.S. News & World Report released their 2013 College rankings this week, many community members held their breath, wondering where Hamilton stands amongst its competitors this year. According to the report, Hamilton is ranked “the No. 16 best liberal arts college” in the nation, one step up from last year’s ranking at No. 17. Despite this exciting move upward, many members of the Hamilton community wonder why Hamilton is not ranked higher.
The U.S. News & World Report rankings, while highly regarded in the college admissions process, certainly cannot capture what it means to be a Hamiltonian. There is no way for them to know how eagerly we devour Opus lunch, how enthusiastically we wave at passing tour groups or how excited we get during the season’s first real blizzard. Instead the rankings refer to clubs that no longer exist at Hamilton, like cooking club “Love ‘n Spoonful,” which disbanded in 2008, and even to groups that have never existed here on the Hill, like the so-called “Urban Outwitters.” The description of Hamilton in this month’s issue of the U.S. News & World Report fails to capture the best aspects of our lives on the Hill.
While it is a shame that U.S. News & World Report does not adequately investigate, even more fazing is the fact that some of Hamilton’s key qualities are hidden from the main rankings page. For example, the page fails to mention that nearly 75 percent of Hamilton classes are comprised of fewer than 20 students. While the statistic is present when digging a little deeper into the website, even the more in-depth description of our College fails to capture the passion, thoughtfulness and dedication of Hamilton professors. There is no picture of the long lines of students in the hallways of our academic buildings during office hours with their professors diligently helping them; nor are there any of entire classes enjoying a meal at a professor’s house in downtown Clinton. These are common moments that define the Hamilton experience that no magazine ranking can ever truly encapsulate.
Even more hidden in the U.S. News & World Report description of our beloved college is our need-blind policy: the College meets 100 percent of students demonstrated financial need, opening our community to a diverse range of students who really want to be here on the Hill. Hamilton’s need-blind policy has become a point of pride for students, faculty and administrators alike. The page does not tell prospective students and parents that Hamilton has a summer internship funding program that enables students to participate in unpaid internships, in the hopes of landing future jobs, without breaking the bank.
It is worth noting that the College does not recognize its rank as official or consequential. Hamilton’s Office of Admissions will not publish a big “No. 16” on the front of its literature, nor will the College’s newsfeed boast of the higher placement among liberal arts colleges. The Spectator staff commends the College for continually ignoring these rankings, as the Hamilton experience is worth so much more than a collection of poorly researched statistics.
While The Spectator staff could write endlessly about the things the U.S. News & World Report rankings omit, it is worthwhile to recognize that Hamilton continues to improve, year after year, in these rankings. Consistent improvement shows that Hamilton is really living up to its status as “a national leader in teaching students to write effectively, learn from each other and think for themselves.” Though we might not agree with all of the ranking criteria, we also like to see Hamilton consistently improving—and, of course, ranking above Colgate certainly doesn’t hurt.