U.S. News & World Report just released its 2009 list of top colleges, and I'm sad to say my alma mater, Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., did not break the top 25 on liberal arts college. To be honest, I didn't have high hopes.

I believe Concordia is a great school with a combination of strong academics, caring professors, a wide range of extracurricular and study abroad opportunities and, most importantly, a welcoming campus atmosphere. I loved my time there.

However, making a prestigious list like the U.S. News & World Report is pretty difficult for schools without an East Coast address. Of the 26 schools at the top of the liberal arts list, only seven are not located on the East Coast. They are Pomona College (California), Carleton College (Minnesota), Claremont McKenna College (California), Grinnell College (Iowa), Harvey Mudd College (California), Oberlin College (Ohio) and Macalester College (Minnesota). As for universities, 10 of 25 were located outside an East Coast state.

I'm not suggesting bias - I did enough of that in my last blog entry - but I think the report sends the wrong message to high school students. That quality education is best served at a long-established, elite (a.k.a. expensive) college, preferably in where the important people live (the East).

Selecting a college should not be about prestige; it should be about fit. For students who plan to spend tens of thousands of dollars and four years of their lives at an institution of higher learning, finding the right college is about knowing what's important to you. Consider things beyond name recognition, such as programs, access to research and professors, size of school and city its located in, cost and financial aid opportunities and campus activities.

I selected Concordia College over similar schools, Gustavus Adolphus and St. Olaf, because when I stepped on campus I felt I belonged. Despite those other schools having higher rankings and many similar attributes to Concordia, Concordia was right for me.

As hundreds of thousands freshmen embark on their college careers in the coming week, I hope they took into account the important factors of selecting a college. Not because the name will look great on a framed diploma hanging in their office some day, but because the college has the tools necessary to help them earn that diploma.