Owned and operated by the Institute of Developmental Anthropology, America.edu is quickly becoming the definitive place online for unbiased, honest and accurate information about America’s colleges and universities. We believe that making an intelligent decision about college should not mean having to stitch together reviews from websites, forums, books and magazines cluttered with advertisements. College choices are usually based on a campus tour, some glossy brochures and magazine ads dressed-up as independent reviews. “If only I had known” is a familiar refrain after the first semester at new school, but it needn’t be. Visiting America.edu is like spending hours talking with hundreds of students, parents and faculty members who will give you the unvarnished truth based on their own experiences. Consider America.edu your trusted partner as you make one of life’s most important decisions.

Here’s what you’ll find at America.edu

Ratings: Our college/university ratings are based on student, parent and faculty feedback and are updated regularly. Our editors evaluate hundreds of student, parent and faculty reports submitted to America.edu, which focus on 14 key campus characteristics. The reports are screened and the results averaged to produce an overall rating.

Here are our rating criteria

Comprehensive Reviews

Our rankings and descriptive narratives put everything you need to know about each college or university into a simple, easy-to-read and condensed format. Our professional editors pore over thousands of pages of reviews, pulling out the valuable nuggets of information that can save you from making a poor decision and leaving the rest for those other websites, book and magazines.

Community Discussions

America.edu’s forums enable students, parents and faculty members of 2-year and 4-year college and universities to share ideas, experiences and opinions in a friendly and constructive environment, with minimal censorship or moderator involvement. We read every word posted, but seldom interfere as we believe in the integrity of our community. At America.edu, you will not find reports and reviews that read like campus-generated advertising copy or warmed-over press releases. We’ll leave that to the other guys. We strive to make our content hard-hitting and precise, and at no point are our editors influenced by advertising or other commercial considerations. Our central purpose is to amplify the voices of students, parents and faculty, so that you’ll have first-hand knowledge about the colleges and universities you’re considering. Higher education is a major investment. You owe it to yourself to find out everything you can before making the big decision.

Ratings explained

If an educational institution is ranked poorly on America.edu, it is not necessarily a "bad" college or university. The ranking simply reflects the current sentiments of those who have submitted reviews recently, though consistently poor ratings should be a red flag. Ratings may change over time as reviews are submitted and campus conditions change.
Our editors look for fair and balanced reports that contain specific information of value to our visitors. Submissions that sound like promotional advertising, seem unnecessarily mean-spirited or are poorly written are usually discarded.
If you are a college or university administrator dissatisfied with the reviews on America.edu, threatening us, sending us angry emails or scolding us via phone isn’t likely to win you any points or improve your reviews. Instead, encourage your students, their parents and your faculty members to submit their own reviews and while you wait for them to be posted, think about what you can do to improve students’ experiences at your school.