BEST COLLEGES - RANKINGS - STANFORD BEST VALUE

Every year there are several rankings of "best" colleges, each list using its own distinct set of variables to evaluate, analyze, measure, and rank.  US News and World Report seems usually to get the most press when its list is released, though it also gets consistently criticized by scholars and journalists alike for its "flawed" criteria.

Many in the college admissions world choose to focus on rankings generated by other sources, like Forbes or Money Magazine.  The theme for Money Magazine's rankings, for example, is, simply speaking, "best value".

Money Magazine has just released its rankings for 2015-16.  They use a variety of measures - such as educational quality, affordability, alumni earnings, tuition increases, and length of time to graduation -  to rank colleges for "best value for your tuition dollar".  Here are the top five:

1. Stanford
2. Babson
3. MIT
4. Princeton
5. Cal Tech

For a look at the full list of rankings,  click here

SAT DEADLINES AND TEST DATES 2015-16

When should you take the SAT?

According to the College Board, most students take the SAT for the first time in the spring of the Junior year, and then again in the fall of the Senior year.  (Of course, the PSAT, which may be considered a "practice" SAT, may be taken in the Sophomore year.)

Please note that the SAT will be redesigned, starting with the March test date.

SAT DATES

2015

Test Date: Oct. 3

*Registration Deadline: Sept. 3

Test Date: Nov. 7

*Registration Deadline: Oct. 9

Test Date: Dec. 5

*Registration Deadline: Nov. 5

2016

Test Date: Jan. 23, 2016

*Registration Deadline: Dec. 28, 2015

NOTE: The following dates are for the redesigned SAT

Test Date: Mar. 5

*Registration Deadline: Feb. 5

Test Date: May 7

*Registration Deadline: Apr. 8

Test Date: June 4

*Registration Deadline: May 5

*Late registration may be available for a fee.

Be sure to confirm all of these dates and get more detailed information at the College Board site. (https://sat.collegeboard.org/home)

For more information about the redesigned SAT, which begins in March 2016 -   https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/