What Matters Most for University Selection?

So many parents and students obsess over finding the “best” university. These students and families pour over rankings of schools and spend time and money trying to gain even a small edge to boost their likelihood of getting into a college they consider best. Oksana Leukhina, an economist and researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, uses econometric tools to study university admissions and graduation at 2,000 U.S. colleges and universities from 1980 through today and reaches a different conclusion (listen to the St. Louis Fed podcast or read a transcript here).

“I would just like to emphasize once again that I don’t recommend students being caught up in this game of trying to attend the best possible college. There is a variety of colleges out there, and I think finding a school which is a good fit for you where you can be happy, not stressed out, learn happily, and actually progress towards graduation, this is kind of a key to your success.

“And just knowing yourself. Knowing what it is that you want is also very important. So if you know that you like to have challenging courses, then maybe you should go to a school that has a graduate program in the field that you want to study. And if you know that you will need extra help studying, then perhaps you should go to a school that offers tutoring services and things like that. So, again, just knowing yourself and not being caught up in that game is something you should consider.”

Wise words as one admissions season ends and another begins.