Ranking criteria for program selection
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I personally rank programs based on curriculum appeal, niche research prospects I am looking at, and level of cultural fit when I rank programs. At the end of the day these 3 things will determine how happy I am to be in that program. For me having a choice of intellectually stimulating electives is very important as I want to tailor what I want to learn. Similarly, a culture of collaboration instead of cut-throat toxic competition is essential for me to feel like I have some breathing room in a demanding graduate program. This is why perhaps some place like Stanford may not be the ideal choice for me, even though it is top ranked.
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I see rankings as mostly related to prestige an institution has built over the years. You will find that some schools always remain in the top 10 or 20, but move up and down. These schools are likely to continue to maintain a high standard. Perhaps look out for schools that have recently risen or gone down too much in rankings and then see why that may be. I think that is the information that any rankings actually provide. Other than that just find a school that fits you and is reasonably well known for employment outcomes and you should be good.
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I think your ranking should depend on your personal needs. Are you looking for professors with expertise in a niche area? Are you only concerned about immediate job outcomes or a transition to PHD from a research-based masters? What does your financial situation look like? What kind of stipend/support do you need and what are the chances of getting it in any given uni? This should help you develop your own ranking.
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I think your ranking criteria also vary significantly based on whether you are applying for a Master's or a Ph.D. Most master's students are looking for a job right away and may need to look at employment outcomes, employment support type (especially for internationals) as well the location and role diversity of alumni of the program. You should perhaps even consider expected salaries from different programs based on prestige and networking potential. For someone like me who applied to a Ph.D. though, I think the relative fit of research motivation, personality and expectations of the research advisor, culture at the research lab, quality, and pace of publications are far more important than any arbitrary ranking. Remember that PHD is a 5-year long commitment requiring incredible grit and complete commitment and having a good interpersonal relationship with the people around you in your lab and finding meaning in your work is essential to thrive in such a high-pressure environment.
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I think rankings should not be considered in isolation and scrutinized too much. Many programs consistently remain in the top 10 or top 20 for example, but vary a lot along that list. This does not mean they actually get better or worse. Some ranking criteria are very volatile and tied to factors that may not be of interest to you for example openness to veterans or amount of publications in an area that is not of interest to you. So perhaps evaluate programs based on the tier in which they fall (top 10, top 20, top 30) rather than the exact number. If you then have to account for rankings look at subcriteria provided by rankings, like QS for instance has diversity and employment outcomes sub criteria for ranking as well, which may be more important for international students.
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M Mukhtiar Ahmad moved this topic from Grad School Application Process on