Causecast

by JEFF FOSTER, Contributing Writer, Stand-up Comedian and Editor of TheLean.org

Washington Monthly has recently added some new criteria to the list – for the more conscientious prospective college students out there. According to the left-leaning indie rag, prospective students should factor campus’ social responsibility and service stats into their enrollment decision.

According to the magazine’s editors, U.S. News, the gold standard in college rankings, uses faulty benchmarks and makes it too easy for schools to manipulate their rankings. With tuition costs rising rapidly, the Monthly argues, students need more reliable information to make a sound choice. Additionally, colleges that contribute the most to social improvement should enjoy more prestige. After all, it’s not just prospective students that should be concerned; everyone has a stake in how the minds of our future leaders are molded.

The rankings are based on three specifically chosen criteria:

- Social mobility – How many students receive need-based financial aid, and of those, how many graduate?

- Research – How much is being spent, how many PhDs are being awarded, and how decorated is the faculty?

- Service – How many students are joining the Peace Corps or the ROTC?

Not surprisingly, University of California, Berkeley topped the list with an overall score of 100, beating out second-place UC San Diego by 18 points. Finding my alma mater, UCLA, in the top 3 was bittersweet – I attended this high-minded institution, but quietly melted into the swaths of students going to and from class without being tuned in to the big-hearted cause culture that permeated the well-worn demonstration tables that lined Bruin Walk.

The Monthly rankings also carry the very apparent distinction of 14 public colleges in the top 20. In the 2009 U.S. News rankings, no public institution made the top 20 (although UC Berkeley was #21 and UCLA was #24). Check out the entire list at Washington Monthly.

The rankings are done scientifically enough – the methodology is clearly explained and the criteria is simple. If you’re still looking for the right campus or know someone who is, and you consider do-goodism is a meaningful measure of a campus’ quality, the Washington Monthly 2009 College Guide is well worth checking out.

Photo by m00by, flickr.