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Oberlin College ranks high for strong retention and graduation on one national ranking and low on another ranking that looks at "best bang for the buck."

(Jon Fobes, The Plain Dealer )

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Forbes and Money have released their annual rankings of colleges.

Each used a different set of standards, which is why college officials say prospective students and their parents should look beyond rankings in choosing a school.

For example, Oberlin College ranked 43rd on Forbes' list of schools with the best outcome and 451st on Money's list of best colleges for the money.

Forbes ranked 650 public and private universities in its annual list of Top Colleges.

"Is college worth it?" the magazine asked. "At these outstanding institutions, that's a no-brainer. We ignore the abstract (reputation) and wasteful (spending-per-student) to focus on one measurement: outcome. From student satisfaction and graduation rates, to career success and student debt, this ranking counts what matters."

The highest ranked Ohio school is Kenyon College (42). Others in the top 200 are Oberlin College (43), Denison University (95), Case Western Reserve University (127), the College of Wooster (136), Ohio Wesleyan University (145), Ohio State University (155) and Miami University (176).

Northeast Ohio universities and their rank are: John Carroll University (251), Baldwin Wallace University (412), Hiram College (482), Kent State University (594), University of Akron (619), Youngstown State University (640) and Cleveland State University (646)

Forbes said it partnered with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington D.C.

"What sets our calculation of 650 colleges and universities apart from other rankings is our firm belief in 'output' over 'input,'" Forbes said. "We're not all that interested in what gets a student into college. Our sights are set directly on ROI (Return on Investment): What are students getting out of college. "

Money also recently released its list of "which of the nation's roughly 1,500 four-year public and private colleges offer the most bang for your tuition buck."

It said it screened out those with a below-average graduation rate and then ranked the 665 that remained on 17 factors in three categories: educational quality, affordability, and alumni earnings provided by PayScale.com. It said enrollment, acceptance rate, and high school GPA data is for the 2012-2013 academic year, the latest available from the U.S. Department of Education.

It said it included a "value added" grade that rated each college in light of the economic and academic profile of its student body and the mix of majors at that school.

"We then used a statistical technique to turn all the data points into a single score on a five-point scale and rated them accordingly," it said.

Ohio colleges in the top 150 are Kenyon College (94), John Carroll University (95), Miami University (144) and Ohio State University (144).

Rankings for Northeast Ohio colleges are - Ursuline College (173), Case Western Reserve University (183), Baldwin Wallace University (429), Oberlin College (451), Hiram College (503), College of Wooster (518) and Kent State University (622).