Highly Ranked Illinois and Missouri Colleges – The Right Choice?

US News & World Report just released their annual list of top universities in the USA and several schools in Illinois and Missouri made the list this year.

Coming in tied for sixth nationally is Northwestern University in Evanston, Il. A perennial favorite in the region, Northwestern churns out Health, Business Management, Marketing and Journalism professionals.  Tied at number 11 is the University of Chicago featuring elevated study in economics, law and political science. Missouri chimes in at number 21 with Washington University in St. Louis which specializes in medical education, computer science, biological and biomedical sciences and engineering.

Picking a four year university isn’t as simple as following the previous reports rankings. Daniel Diermeier wrote in Forbes that college rankings aren’t as thorough as they could be and thus only provide partial info for families considering higher end post-secondary schooling. Diermeier is correct that researching the right college should include far more than a simple ranking, and a solid student along with proper counseling and parental influence will want to dig deeper to find the right fit for the professional journey they want to begin.

How many students end up changing majors? Switching majors is something that 80% of college students do (at least once). Those decisions add to student debt. How many students end up working in their field of study? Just 15% of college graduates with a bachelor’s degree get a job in their field of study.

Students in high school need to spend time with their school counselors and also their parents discussing the best path to success after high school depending on what the student wants to achieve. Remember, universities are a business. They want to sell you on what they do well and potential best case scenarios and the overall college experience.

Measure what matters to you personally. Investigate schools that specialize in areas of study you are looking to get into. Many are choosing to begin their collegiate career locally to get a lot of undergrad basics out of the way at a community college. They are less expensive. You can save money on housing by staying at home. Plus you can bank money from a part time job towards taking that next step to a university. You’ll also get more time to figure out career direction before having to change majors.