Updated April 2019
As our name implies, at College Choice we’re here to help our readers make the best decision for their personal education needs. We know that there are a lot of options out there, and that a student’s choice in school sets the stage for a student’s goals, opportunities, and career.
At College Choice, we present our recommendations and rankings based on our own home-grown methodology. We’re currently applying a series of changes to our methodology for 2019, and we look forward to presenting readers with these upgrades. Keep an eye out!
Students want to find schools measured on affordability, quality, reputation, satisfaction, and value:
- Affordability: We analyze the cost of the degree and assign an affordability value.
- Quality: We consider factors including graduation rate and curriculum.
- Reputation: We incorporate data from industry-specific journals and rankings.
- Satisfaction: We analyze the percentage of students who start and complete their degree.
- Value: We consider the average incomes of students (less than five years after they graduate), and assign value based on this criteria.
In 2018, we produced our rankings and lists by placing equal emphasis on each category, ranking schools by where they placed in each. We valued categories based on the degree and subject matter at approximately 20% each.
The data we present on College Choice draws from a variety of reliable sources. These include government databases such as the Department of Education’s (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).