Can I trust college rankings when doing research?

Trust them the same way you trust movie reviews: helpful for narrowing things down, but not the whole story. Rankings can give you a general sense of a school’s reputation, but they often rely on data that may not align with what you value, like faculty salaries or endowment size. Plus, what’s “best” for one student might not work at all for another. A top-ranked engineering school isn’t much help if you’re majoring in creative writing and hate large lecture halls. Use rankings as a starting point, not a deciding factor. Dig deeper to see if the school fits your goals, interests, and learning style. A great fit beats a fancy number every time.