Understanding Military Times Best Colleges Rankings

Hey everyone! I've been looking at the Military Times Best Colleges rankings, but I'm a bit confused about how they evaluate and rank colleges. Can someone break down the ranking criteria or metrics they use? I'm aiming for the military after graduation. Thanks!

Sure, happy to help! Military Times Best Colleges rankings utilize a comprehensive assessment of a college's suitability for service members, veterans, and their families as students. It's a bit more specialized than general college rankings as it considers factors particularly important to this demographic. Here's a quick breakdown of some of the main criteria they use:

Military Culture: The level of support for military and veteran students is evaluated. This includes staffing, extracurriculars associated with military service, policies acknowledging military experience, affiliated ROTC programs, and military-related student organizations.

Academic Outcomes and Quality: In addition to traditional academic measures such as retention rates, graduation rates, student-to-faculty ratio, they specifically look at outcomes for military and veteran students, including financial aid and loan repayment rates.

Academic Policies: They assess policies such as acceptance of American Council on Education (ACE) credits, which translate military training into academic credit. Also considered are priorities given to military and veteran students for course registration, availability of online degree options, and other military-focused educational policies.

Cost & Financial Aid: They evaluate the affordability of the college, factoring in things like tuition costs, availability of Yellow Ribbon scholarships (which can supplement GI Bill benefits), and the school's participation in tuition assistance programs for military personnel.

Veteran Support Services: This includes support for transitioning to civilian life, availability of dedicated advisors for vets, presence of a veterans office on campus, and specialized career services for military and veteran students.

It's important to understand that rankings in specific categories like this are quite unique compared to common metrics such as academic prestige or student life. Military Times rankings provide valuable insights especially suited for students like you planning to serve in the military after college. When you're looking at these rankings, remember that the best school ultimately is the one that fits your personal goals, academic interests, and intended career path, so use these metrics as one piece of a larger decision-making process. Good luck with your journey!