《2009版US News美國大學綜合排名》是學生和家長比較和選擇學校時的極好起點，因為它設定了多種標準來全面衡量美國大學的教學水平。但是學生在選校時也應該考慮其他一些不能被這些標準衡量的因素，包括學習費用、獎學金額度、提供的課程、校園生活、周邊環(huán)境和地理位置等。通過US News排名，學生和家長可能會發(fā)現一些更心儀的院校，這些學校也許他們之前從未考慮、甚至從未聽說過。學生可能會同時了解上百所院校，但縮小選擇范圍并確定最終要就讀的學校是一件難事。

那么學生該如何使用US News排名呢？學生在參考排名的同時，也應研究排名以外的其他數據。US News排名里包含了豐富的院校信息，可以幫助學生在最短時間內縮小擇校范圍。（此為威久留學專家重點點評）

例如，以下數據可以折射的實際情況：

Ø 高中生搜索大學以往錄取學生的SAT成績――推斷自己是否有機會被錄取，甚至知道自己是否屬于優(yōu)等申請人范疇并獲得優(yōu)等生獎學金；

Ø學校每個班級學生人數――判斷自己有多大機會可以在大學課堂上得到教師的關注；

Ø 師生人數比――在不同的學院自己可以得到教授重視的機會有多大；

Ø 新生保留率――學校在幫助新生適應大學學習生活這一方面做出的努力有多大。

學生還可以通過其他數據，知道公立大學之間的差別所在，對某些專門院校進行比較，知道大學校園的多樣化程度，或知道性價比最高的院校有哪些。通過US NEWS排名學生也可以查詢到美國1800所四年制大學的地理位置、校園大小、花費水平、提供的課程、和獎學金政策等。

英文原版：

How to Use the Rankings Wisely

The 2009 edition of the U.S. News rankings of colleges and universities provides an excellent starting point for families comparing colleges because it offers an opportunity to judge the relative quality of the educational experience at schools according to widely accepted indicators of excellence. But many other factors that can''t be measured should figure in your decision, including the school''s cost, the availability of financial aid, course offerings, the feel of campus life, and the setting and geographic location.

So how should you use our ranking tables? Study the data that accompany the actual rankings. The tables are a source of useful information about colleges that is otherwise hard to obtain and will help you narrow your search to a small number of colleges that are a good fit.

For instance, high school students can scan our column of colleges'' student SAT scores to infer whether they could gain admission to a college―and even rise to the top of the applicant pool and possibly qualify for a merit-based scholarship. They can use our class-size data lists to get a sense of the intimacy of colleges'' classroom experiences. They can check faculty-student ratios to see how much attention they are likely to get from professors at different schools, or check the freshman retention rates to learn how hard schools work to keep students from dropping out. They can study other lists to see how the public schools stack up against one another, to compare specialty schools, or to see how we rate campuses in terms of diversity or best value for the dollar. And look up any of 1,800 four-year schools in our directory to get information on schools'' location, size, cost, academic offerings, and financial aid policies.

While scanning our lists to find colleges that feel right, students and parents may find many names that they had not considered―or even heard of. There are hundreds of fine colleges and universities, and ultimately the challenge is to narrow the list to a few that you''d really like to attend. The articles on this website will give you the names of some of those schools and help you further think about which colleges make the most sense for you. Good luck.

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