Is that really so wrong though? I'd like to go to a college where the food doesn't suck and the campus is nice. Those are definitely factors that went into my choice. Value was definitely the overwhelming factor in my decision though, I went to a UC.
Also, even the value rankings are mostly just Ivies at the top. Funny enough, my school is in the ~30s for overall rankings, but in the low 100s for value, since they're looking at the out-of-state cost (which for UCs is around 50k vs. 15k in-state), and they include grants, which is extremely variable by individual student. If they looked at the in-state tuition, UCs would dominate the value rankings.
Also, even the value rankings are mostly just Ivies at the top. Funny enough, my school is in the ~30s for overall rankings, but in the low 100s for value, since they're looking at the out-of-state cost (which for UCs is around 50k vs. 15k in-state), and they include grants, which is extremely variable by individual student. If they looked at the in-state tuition, UCs would dominate the value rankings.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-unive...