SMC ranks number one in polls, hearts
Katherine Middlemas
Saint Mary's College
My immediate reaction to Courtney Boyle's Sept. 13 Inside Column, entitled "Is SMC No. 1 or lacking?" was a combination of offense, confusion and pity.
As a Saint Mary's alum, I agree with Ms. Boyle about not choosing a school simply based on the rankings. After all, U.S. News and World Report states directly about their methodology, "The U.S. News rankings provide an excellent starting point for families because they offer the opportunity to judge the relative quality of institutions based on widely accepted indicators of excellence." These rankings combine factors that are good as an overview for both the student and parent. It is not meant to be the end all, be all deciding factor for them.
It is recommended by many in the college search process that spending one-on-one time with current students and seeing the campus first hand is the best way to really experience a college or university. Saint Mary's also highly recommends this process and has a great organization on campus through the Admissions office to help students in this very tedious time in their education. As a former member of this club, VISA (Volunteers in Support of Admission) I hosted and gave tours to many prospective students and gave them my honest opinion of Saint Mary's. It can be an emotional and intellectual barrier attending a school that is not properly meant for you, and seeing and learning of that first hand is the best way to avoid that problem.
For what Saint Mary's has, it is a great school: the education, the location, the close-knit family feeling you get while on the beautiful unified campus. And for the factors that U.S. News ranks upon, it deserves to be No. 1. Also, ask tens of thousands of current students and alums and I bet they will say they would rank it No. 1 with them as well, and on entirely different factors. Also, it makes me wonder, where does it rank in your heart, Ms. Boyle, after reflecting on all the time, energy, money and love you have invested in Saint Mary's as you enter your senior year?
Katherine Middlemas
Saint Mary's College
class of 2001
San Francisco, Calif.
Sept. 13
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, September 16, 2002
