Creating your Matrix

Recently, U.S. News released the national best colleges list for 2022-23. Every year parents, future students, and higher education professionals anticipate the release of these rankings. The rankings are simultaneously important and unimportant. But should the rankings be a deciding factor when making your decision on where to go to school?

Not really.

When selecting where to go to school you need to create a Matrix. Regardless of what publication you are looking at Forbes, Macleans, Princeton Review, etc., you can get a sense of how schools compare to each other, and you can gather some basic facts.

Benefits of creating a Matrix:

• Causes you to question and reflect - for instance, location, do you want to be closer to home or further away?

• Visually appealing representation

• A valuable reference for writing applications - for instance, helps you keep track of the distinguishing details between programs

• Cuts down on revisiting institutional webpages for information

• Creates separation amongst your top choices

Here is a sample Matrix:

College	Admissions Requirements	Program name & Length	Location	Cost	Unique Features of the Program	Ranking Total
Harvard
Stanford
Columbia
Princeton

The Matrix is customizable, and the decision is likely not quantifiable. However, the Matrix will allow you to examine the facts, and help your decision emerge. Most of the institutions you are considering are unique in their own ways so it will come down to selecting one that fits you best.