YCBK 222: Did Columbia game US News college rankings

In this episode you will hear:   (15:20) Mark and Dave discuss a Washington Post March 23rd, 2022 article by Wisconsin math professor Jordan Ellenberg, entitled, “Did Columbia game US News college rankings”. The article describes the research math professor at Columbia, Michael Thaddeus has done to expose how the data Columbia presented to US News was erroneous to such a level that it cannot be seen as an innocent mistake. He describes how Columbia moved from 18th to 2nd in the USNWR rankings. Mark and Dave discuss why this data fabrication happens all too often but they save most of their fire for exposing how preposterous the rankings are.     (40:12) Question from a listener-   If you like our article discussions, you will get a double dose in episode 222. Our question from a listener asks Lisa what she thinks of Derek Thompson, article in the Atlantic entitled, “Why American teens are so sad”. Mark describes the introductory content of the article and then he asks Lisa for feedback point by point. This is such an important topic that Lisa will take 25 minutes this week and 25 minutes next week to go into details about the four main points that the article makes. If you want to read the article, here is the link:     (01:11:10) Our Interview is with Dr. Roger Parrott, the President of Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi   Topic "What are the Major Trends Impacting Higher Education" Part 1 of 2   (01:25:50) Our recommended resource for episode 222 is the “Go to College Learning Differences college fair that occurs on Wednesday, May 4th from 11-1 pm and again on May 4th from 6:30-8:30. Here is a link to register:   (01:38:05) Our College Spotlight looks at, “Understanding The University of Illinois Chicago, aka UIC. This is part 1 of 2.       To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our free quarterly admissions deep-dive, delivered directly to your email four times a year, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign up on the right side of the page under “the Listen to our podcast icons”   Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news,  and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer them on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed:   https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast   To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: [email protected].   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you subscribe to our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:   If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at [email protected]. All they ask is that you review their services on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/