Not only are college ratings more important, but the social status of going to a highly-rated school has more added social cache for a wider variety of demographic groups. While the Ivy League schools always had a great deal of importance for their 'name' amongst a certain social set, the explosion of the college ratings industry has meant that students on virtually ever 'level' of college admissions has an obsession with rising above the competition. Fallows takes a more light-hearted and humorous attitude towards the social obsessions of parents than does Confessore's more analytical article. "The counselors and admissions officers we interviewed said time and again that their collective message to America's parents is 'Calm down!'" he notes (Fallows 2003). But in an increasingly competitive job market, this sentiment of calm has become in scarce supply in 2010. Additionally, as noted by Fallows, the ever-increasing price tag of a private education means that both students and parents alike are haunted by the question of 'is it worth it' -- will the education pay dividends in the future by providing the student with valuable connections as well as with information and enriching experiences? Other than a home, for many students a college education is the most...

And neither Fallows' jovial counsel of 'calm' nor Confessore's analysis of the ratings industry fully tease out the unspoken issue of class -- gaining access to a prestigious school is often seen as the main way an individual can advance into the corridors of power of America because of a personal association with a prestigious school.
Although the information provided by ratings guides may be important, they also generate a self-justifying prophesy because of American's obsession with social betterment -- an ambitious and bright student wants to go to the best school he or she can afford, and often chooses the highest-rated school that is approved of by employers. This results in certain schools improving their selectivity ratings but not necessarily their ability to cater to the needs of individual students -- and to provide a high-quality education. Questions of whether it should cost too much to go to college in America, and whether the American view of education as economic betterment rather than enrichment is a healthy one is lost and left unexplored in both articles. The reason there is no 'calm' is because the decision is so fraught with financial, social, and emotional peril due to the expense of going to college in America, and the American dream of self-improvement.

References

Confessore, N. (2003). What makes a college good? Atlantic Monthly, 292(4), 118-126. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Fallows, J., Ganeshananthan, V., Confessore, N., Peck, D., & Matthews, J. (2003). Our first annual college-admissions survey. Atlantic Monthly, 292(4), 104-40. Retrieved from ERIC…