10 Things We Learned Despite Losing the #MyTopCollege Campaign

The Forbes #MyTopCollege campaign set out with one goal in mind: To have students across the U.S. show — and tell — the world why their school deserved to be named a #MyTopCollege winner.

So we set out to do just that. To tell the world why Colorado State University is undoubtedly the best. And with a padded resumé like CSU’s, ranking among the best shouldn’t be all that hard, we thought. This University has some real nice accolades: No. 3 ranked Veterinary Medicine program in the nation; top-ranked Occupational Therapy program; Top School in Military Advanced Education; and Most Sustainable University in the Nation. The list goes on & on.

The next step was to rally the troops. Lucky for our social media team, Colorado State students have an immense amount of school pride, and they jumped right in. With all sorts of spirit. My goal was to at least make the Top 10 in this campaign. The raw, heartfelt posts came pouring in. I felt the emotions. These students were reminding me why this alma mater of mine is also my very own #MyTopCollege. With each update from Forbes EDU, we were in the Top 10 and running away with the Mountain Region by a landslide. All was going well. That is, until the final results came in. Colorado State University was nowhere to be found. I felt gypped. The response from our Rams had gone over so well, and I was anxious to announce that we’d made the Top 10. But we didn’t. And the more I thought about it, I realized that we didn’t need to. The bite-sized testimonials we would up with are so much more valuable than being mentioned in a Forbes article.

Here’s 10 things we learned despite “losing”.

1. The beauty of Fort Collins never ceases to amaze.

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2. People really love working here.

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3. CSU is the full package.

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4. People leave this place with lifelong friendships, forever a part of the Ramily.

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5. People recognize — and are proud of — CSU’s commitment to its students and the world.

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6. No matter who you are or where you came from, you come to CSU and feel like you belong here.

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7. This campus feels like home.

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8. That CSU is where you start writing your story… on a blank page.

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9. In the end, it really is worth it.

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10. That we won. Hearing the impact of Colorado State straight from the mouths of our Rams, there is simply no way this can be seen as a loss. We’ll take this win any day.