A flood of college rankings has hit higher ed over the last several months, with varying degrees of acceptance or rejection. It’s more of the latter emotion for one sector of higher ed—admissions officers, according to a survey by educational services provider Kaplan.
On the heels of the release of U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best College, Kaplan’s survey of about 240 admissions officers from highly-ranked institutions found that 75% believe such listings have “lost some of their prestige over the last couple of years.” That’s a sharp increase from the 56% of admissions officers who said the same in Kaplan’s 2023 survey.
This year, 13% of schools that participate in the U.S. News college rankings said they will definitely drop out or are considering doing so, Kaplan noted.
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“For many top ranked schools, their placement on the list is a key recruitment and fundraising tool, making some administrators’ jobs easier or more challenging, depending where they net out,” said Jason Bedford, senior vice president, Kaplan. “We advise students and their parents to visit the schools they’re interested in and connect with current students, alumni, and faculty to discuss their experiences. Through this discovery process, students and families may uncover other personal factors that may supersede the rankings and be surprised by what schools are the best matches.”
The survey also gathered direct feedback from admissions officers, including:
“Rankings are imperfect and the public puts far too much weight behind them without understanding or investigating methodology. Schools are in a game of who will flinch first on withdrawing, so the navel-gazing continues.”
“I don’t mind them, but U.S. News should make it clear that schools not ranked in the top 50 are not bad schools, and every student has a school that is right for them, even if it is ranked lower.”
In its latest rankings, U.S. News notes that more than 50% of a college’s or university’s ranking is based on metrics related to the success of diverse students and the earnings of graduates. This year, U.S. News also gave more weight to the performance and graduation rate of a school’s Pell Grant recipients.
