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USNews is one of the main references when applying to study in the United States. However, the New York Times recently reported that since 2010, USNews has been selling ranking "badges" to universities, making millions of dollars. What the hell is going on?Let's take a look with the study abroad supervision network!
Image credit: The New York Times
According to the New York Times, USNews sells ranking accreditation to universities, and some of the less well-known schools themselves are the main targets of such deals. For example, the University of Maine at Augusta, Nebraska at Corney, South Carolina Citadel Military Academy, the University of Alabama, etc. They attract students to apply by paying a fee in exchange for ranking certification.
Take the University of Maine at Augusta, for example: $15,225 was spent in 2023 to certify three professional honors:
Ranked 61st in the Veterans Online Bachelor's Degree Program
Online Bachelor's Degree in Business is ranked 79th
The online bachelor's degree in business program is ranked 104th
Everyone can see that the money spent on buying is actually a relatively unpopular ranking branch, and the main ranking has not been exposed to similar incidents so far. However, USNews has had frequent accidents since last year, such as:
Well-known schools in the United States, such as Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Pennsylvania and MIT, have announced their withdrawal from the U.S News rankings. Among them, Columbia University provided fake data, and after being picked, the official announced that it would end its cooperation with U.S News, no longer provide any data, and no longer participate in any follow-up rankings.
According to the Wall Street Journal, about 20% (40) of law schools in the 2023 USNews rankings, including Yale University, announced the end of their partnership with USNews.
Then during the New Year's Day of 2024, USNews announced that there will be no global rankings this year!
Image source: U.S. News official website
But, later USNews quietly released the 2023-2024 global university rankings on its official website, which only announced the Top 10. And when you search for Best Global Universities, you can find 3 different rankings!
We clicked on the learn more option on the official website and investigated the reason, USNews is testing new AI products, and the results presented do not accurately reflect the facts. So this time, the latest top 10 rankings of USNews can only be said to be for reference only.
USNews has always been the main reference ranking for students applying to study in the United States, and now it is obviously going through a period of great transformation.
We've always advised that you don't just look at a single ranking to determine a school. Some people think that all rankings can be "artificially manipulated", so all rankings cannot be trusted, which is actually too extreme.
There must be some truth in the fact that the world's four authoritative rankings are commonly used for school selection, recruitment, and returning to China. Rankings are important both abroad and back home.
USNews ranking is an important reference for applying to study in the United States, in addition to it, the United States also has local authoritative lists such as Wall Street Journal rankings, Forbes rankings, and New York Times rankings. If students feel that the gold content of USNews has decreased, they can refer to many parties and choose a school based on word of mouth.
If students have other requirements, such as looking for a school with a strong alumni network, a good geographical location, and suitable for science and engineering/liberal arts, they need experienced teachers to make professional recommendations.
You are welcome to contact us for more detailed study abroad information and one-stop study abroad services, or you can use the free study abroad locator tool below to test what kind of school you can apply to!
In 2000~2016, the Ministry of Education has approved more than 500 legally qualified study abroad agents... In 2017, the state cancelled the approval process for the qualification of study abroad agents... At present, there are more than 10,000 institutions engaged in study abroad intermediary services in the market, such as "consulting companies", "consulting agencies" and "consulting companies". Which is the best study abroad agent?How to find a reliable study abroad agent?What should I do if I encounter an agent running away, a consultant leaving, or a contract trap?
You can use the "study abroad agent qualification reputation inquiry" tool of the study abroad supervision network, the study abroad supervision network is not a study abroad agency, as a supervision platform, established nearly 10 years ago, has truly served more than 100,000 students, and has accumulated hundreds of thousands of user evaluations about various study abroad agencies, word of mouth is an important reference basis for students to choose a study abroad agent, hurry up and check it!
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