Prospective students making choices
Want to find schools considered the best.
They check stats from well-informed voices,
And later everyone rejoices
When making an admission request.
They want to know about class sizes,
About how much tuition will cost,
How much the school prioritizes
Test scores, and if it penalizes
Bad students and tells them to get lost.
Is the campus in a nice setting?
Is there a place where kids can party?
They want to know what they are getting
And make sure they’ll be no regretting
Picking out a major too arty.
A few want to know what they will learn,
Although that does not matter to most.
This year’s rankings have a new concern:
What can a student expect to earn;
That crucial stat is what they now post.
*****
Poet’s Note: In a new development (surprising only in that it took so long to happen) the U.S. News & World Report college rankings now offer advice on whether a college is “worth it”—in the way that really matters. This way, prospective students and their families don’t need to slog through what a young person might have to learn; instead, getting down to brass tacks: how much they will earn. “U.S. News & World Report college rankings are here, now with income measurement” by Sheridan Hendrix, The Columbus Dispatch, 22 September 2026.