i've looked at the rankings, but everyone is always saying they're totally bogus.  i'm mostly looking at schools in my area so i've made my own rankings :)

I never really looked at the rankings when I was looking.  To me, it didn't matter what they were listed, so long as the school seemed right for me.  I don't think the rankings should matter.  A fictional number means nothing when compared to university classes and programs.

That's a good question, CompSciKid. I think the U.S. News & World Report and some other rankings are basically considered the most legit sources you're going to find (in the US anyway) for college rankings. Here's what I would advise doing, though.

1) Consider your budget. What scholarships are you likely to get/do you already have? If you're one of the top ten students in your class and your scores are brilliant, you'll most likely qualify for some major scholarships that open you up to practically any University in the US. What are your parents and other relatives willing/able to pay? What have you saved up? Are you willing to take out loans? How much? Once you see what you can afford, your selection will likely get smaller. 

2) Consider your area. In-State tuition for public universities is almost always significantly more than Out-of-state tuition. You may also wish to stay fairly close to home, or even with your parents so that you don't have to worry about pricey room and board. In addition, most states offer scholarships to graduating high school seniors that pay a certain percent of tuition to students who stay in their state. If you're only looking in-state (as I am), your pool becomes phenomenally smaller. 

3) Consider your grades and test scores. What universities will actually accept you?

4) Consider your major. This is a big one for me, since I'm into Creative Writing and Criminology, not the most popular majors in the world. Many universities (such as the University of Florida) don't offer them, or only offer vague "focuses" in my area. Is your major popular like Business or Psychology, or a little more obscure? Different colleges will have strengths and weaknesses in different areas, and you can usually find out what these are by asking around online. Check out the classes the universities have available for your major, the students, teachers, and funding for your program/s of interest.

5) Consider your own comfort and non-academic interests. Small, medium, or big camus? Huge lecture halls for core courses, or small teacher-student ratios for every class? Tons of sports? Huge fraternities and sororities? Popular public universities tend to have more students, while popular private universities tend to be smaller. Less popular universities will obviously be smaller. I know that the more popular public universities tend to have lots of partying, tons of sports, and frat/sororities are huge there (at least in Florida). Look into it all. 

6) Yes, consider the ranking. I would say that it's a good thing to consider a few popular ranking lists, as long as you don't take them too seriously. Carefully review their methods for ranking and decide for yourself whether or not these methods are at all credible. If you find they are, take a look to see if your colleges of choice rank. I know that UF ranks higher than FSU on both the Princeton Review and USNWR, but I wouldn't choose UF because of its limited major options. And I also noted that, Major-wise, FSU ranked number 6 out of all public US universities when it came to Criminology. Just take everything into careful consideration. 

Instead of college ranking lists, try Collegeboard.com. It's a fantastic site that you may already be familiar with. It has the best feature for narrowing down your college selection that I've seen. Definitely use it! When you get your choices narrowed down, try Collegeprowler.com for more information on the Universities of interest. Also check out the books. There's a good chance that your local library will suppy the books on universities within your state.     

Hey My name is natisha nicole farmer

In all honesty, I am going for so specific a major that my college options were significantly narrower than most people's.  I only had four colleges that were within a reasonable price range.  I managed to get accepted to the school with the best program.  That's what mattered to me.  I am going to the college where the job recruiters will go because they know the kids they get fresh out of college have the best base for the job.

If you're interested in a generic kind of degree, then perhaps go for the rating (that is, if you have the money to go to the "top" schools).  That way you have the school's credibility to back you up when looking for a job.

By the way, the top-ranked schools do not have my major.

i am satisfied with my major in human services, because i love to help people.  Right now, i go to university of phoenix.