Measure a Programme by Its Alumni, Not Its Ranking

Rankings are built to be comparable across institutions, which forces them toward metrics that are collectible everywhere. Collectible is not the same as decision-relevant.

The applicant's real question is narrower: where do people like me end up five years after this programme, and how did they get there? That is answerable by reading alumni paths directly, and it is far more informative than a composite score.

Prospective students should spend the hour they would give to a league table on twenty alumni profiles instead. The pattern that emerges is usually unmistakable.