Students disagree with Butler’s position in Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Butler University students said Thursday they disagreed with a ranking that put the school in the bottom 60% of colleges in the country.
The school ranked 165th out of 400 universities in the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S.
Butler just missed the top 40% by five spots in the 2024 rankings from the news outlet and the San Francisco-based marketing firm.
Students said the methodology of the rankings did not show the full picture of what Butler has to offer.
“I don’t think that that’s a super accurate representation of Butler,” said Sophie Love, a Butler junior and business major.
Love said the academics at Butler prepared her for what’s next. “And I feel like it’s prepared me well for my internships and the different types of projects that I do on and off campus so I’m surprised by the ranking.”
Julia Brookshire is a senior education major at Butler. She said the rank of a college should be more broadly based on multiple factors not just finances for graduates.
“I personally don’t value money super highly,” Brookshire said. “I definitely value relationships and experiences over that, and it’s more important to me as I am graduating in May to find somewhere that I am going to be happy and feel fulfilled.”
The ranking focused predominantly on student outcomes broken into three categories: salary impact; years to pay off; and graduation rates, which was 70% of the rankings. Student experience and diversity were the remaining 30% of the ranking.
Brookshire said she came “from a high school that was very, very diverse” before “coming to a university that is predominately white.”
“But, I would like to have that sort of experience of being able to look in my class and see people who look different from me,” Brookshire said.
Love says most student outcomes just come down to how the person uses their degree. “I think it definitely does rely and depend on the individual, and what you make of your degree and your career.”
Students noted the tuition at the private university is high, making it difficult to pay off for some.
Butler’s administration did not respond to a News 8 request for comment on the story.