Apparently some myths have grown up around the USNews College Rankings. Someone decided to take the bunk out of them. Debunking Myths About the U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings In a related/unrelated story: Stanford admits a record low 5% of freshman applicants. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-27/stanford-admits-record-low-5-percent-of-freshman-applicants