As an Ivy League school that has consistently topped U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" list, the University is used to garnering praise. But according to The Atlantic Monthly, Princeton is only second best.
The literature and opinion magazine this week issued the first edition of its own annual list of "America's 50 Most Selective Colleges," which measures college selectivity. In The Atlantic's book, Princeton is runner-up to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Following MIT and the University, The Atlantic ranked the California Institute of Technology, Yale University and Harvard University. Rounding off its top 10 are Stanford University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University and Swarthmore College.
The ranking is based on factors including number of applicants, percent admitted, SAT scores and retention rate.
Whereas other similar lists divide schools into categories such as national universities and liberal arts colleges, the Atlantic's ranking clumps all such schools together.
Some questioned the practicality of using rejection rates as a ranking criterion versus other elements such as undergraduate life, quality of professors and access to resources.
"Unless you're looking for an easy [college to get into], I don't think it's that important to know [a college's] selectivity," Alfred Woodson '07 said.
Though the admissions office could not be reached for comment last night, admissions officers generally caution prospective applicants to look beyond statistics when deciding whether to apply to the University.
For instance, this year, when the U.S. News ranking named the University as the top school of its kind for the fourth year running, admissions dean Janet Rapeyle said that, though the University was honored to receive such recognition, the ranking is not the end-all in the admissions process.
Yet for some ambitious parents and students, selectivity may be an important mark of prestige. Time will tell if the Atlantic's list helps drive up applications to the University and increases selectivity even more.
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