College rankings are increasingly affecting college selectivity and the results may be more harmful than helpful to prospective undergraduates and incoming freshmen.

According to US News & World Report, the UW consistently ranks 11th among the top public universities in the nation. Among private and public colleges, the UW is tied at 7th place with Stanford University for its research in the medical field.

The National Opinion Research Center asserts that the UW is the 15th best university in the country, while the 2006 edition of Academic Ranking of World Universities rates the UW as the 17th best college in the world. Newsweek rates the UW 22nd in their Top 100 Global Universities issue.

College surveys from US News & World Report and The Princeton Review are regularly published in assessments that factor various academic data such as acceptance rates, average SAT and ACT scores and alumni donations.

Ken Carabbacan, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering, took college rankings very seriously when he first applied to the UW.

"National rankings show that the colleges you apply to are valid," said Carabbacan. "To know that your school is ranked among the top 50, that shows you're making a valid choice. You want to go to a school that has good academics."

College surveys bestow percentage points to specific areas, such as the total value of a school's endowment. What makes this practice controversial is the level of importance each area is given. US News & World Report assigns weight to each area on a subjective basis. Their web site states, "Each indicator is ... based on our judgments about which measures of quality matter most."

Achievement records are sought out by sending forms to universities.

"We fill out the forms," said UW Director of News and Information, Bob Roseth. "They send stuff several times a year."

Most college surveys employ the same methods in determining school rank, and many critics are crying foul.

Michele Tolela Myers, President of Sarah Lawrence College, recently wrote an article for The Washington Post that warned about the failure of submitting survey forms.

Tolela said that colleges are handed "made-up numbers" if they fail to provide the information needed to evaluate rankings. This can drastically alter an institution's image and turn away potential applicants.

George Leef, executive director of the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, and Michael Lowrey, the associated editor for the Carolina Journal, released a report in 2004 about the dangers of college rankings and the impact they have on students.

"Americans love lists and rankings... The infatuation with lists and rankings is very evident in higher education," reported Leef and Lowrey. "Students and parents are often elated by acceptance at a school with a high ranking, or depressed by a rejection by such an institution."

Some college surveys, however, are more interested in student perspectives.

CollegeProwler, a survey written by students, has student reporters based at 233 campuses.

These reporters interview their peers to see what students rank as the most important aspects of campus life.

Luke Skurman, CEO of CollegeProwler, created his company while a sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University. Skurman wanted to connect future students to those who have already had experience trudging through finals and dreaded essays.

"We let the students grade their own school," said Skurman. "Our rankings are really about student happiness."

Reach reporter Anothony Shelley at news@thedaily.washington.edu.