If you have ever met a Washington University student, you will find that they have some strong opinions about the school they call home. From how good the food is and how quickly it gets boring to how there is always construction, yet no significant increase in the amount of usable student space, to how we seemingly have to toil in obscurity compared to peer institutions but go through a curriculum just as difficult. I have had many of these same opinions and much stronger ones about the University, but there is one thing that I believe more than anything else.

Wash. U. is the best school in the country.

Why on Earth would I say such a thing? Have I lost my mind with the constant grind that defines the Wash. U. experience as much as a half and half? Quite the opposite. Having spent the better part of eight years here, I can confidently say that Wash. U. is the best place for students to be in order to lead, before and after graduation.

But what about rankings? Isn’t Wash. U. barely in the top 20? Yes, but rankings only matter by what the rankers deem most important. For example, U.S. News and World Report lays out its methodology for ranking colleges every year and how it changes. Expert opinion accounts for 20% of the score, with peer assessment making up 15% and high school counselors making up another 5%. Now, since rankings are so important with high school students in determining where to apply, it would make sense for administrators at a university to weigh competitors lower than what they actually believe. It is also impossible for everyone who was sent a survey to know enough about each university they were questioned about to provide an accurate picture of how the university operates. High school counselors are an even less reliable source for this assessment, since they are not fully a part of the college world and may be swayed by what college they went to and its relationship between others (a Duke fan may have rated University of North Carolina lower because of a basketball game they lost 20 years ago). Or, they may simply go off what college they have heard most about. Standardized testing is also a significant portion of the score, but test scores are more indicative of a student’s level of income rather than genuine ability. Rankings change yearly and mean less and less as schools try and game the system to inch up a little so alumni can gloat to their friends.

While I don’t put any stock into rankings, I can still say Wash. U. is the best university in the country by how much influence and power the student population has compared to peer institutions. We haven’t been a national academic powerhouse for very long. Much of that advancement can be attributed to the growth, especially financially, under Chancellor Mark Wrighton. Since the 1980s, Wash. U. has been a leader in fundraising, elevating it into the national spotlight. My feelings on him are well known, but no one can deny his ability to grow our campus into what it is today.

The short time Wash. U. has spent on this level means that procedures, traditions and other things are not fully set. Take a school that has been at this level longer than us, and it’ll have traditions on how things are done, who has the power on campus, who gets into the school (looking at you, legacy admissions) and the power structure that determines if anything happens. We’re still figuring out who we are, which leaves a lot of room for students to express themselves in meaningful ways. The protests about socioeconomic diversity, divesting from fossil fuels and unionization are taken seriously, even if they don’t always immediately succeed. There are not many barriers to a student starting a new club that will have an immediate impact on campus: Black Men’s Coalition was started this year by senior Jamar McDonald and has been a constant bright spot for the community it serves. Greek life, a notoriously exclusive system, has been made much better with the recent additions of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and Alpha Psi Lambda providing desperately needed spaces for people of color. All of these things were made possible by students taking advantage of the open spaces in campus life to make a change themselves, instead of waiting for the administration to do it.

But this freedom won’t last for long. Eventually, traditions will be set, a definite power structure will be established and the reputation of Wash. U. will be strong enough that changing it will be much more difficult. Until that time comes, Wash. U. provides top-level resources for its students to compete with any other elite university, while having enough space that those same students can have an active hand in determining what Wash. U. will be known for. So, look past that feeling of doubt when people have no clue of the caliber of school you go to, and be proud that you can leave your mark on the history of Wash. U. in a way no other university can offer.