Final Review of Literature Julia Henderson

The Impact of U.S. News and World Report

est Colleges
Undergraduate B Ranking on Student
Choice and the Selectivity of Colleges and Universities
How do undergraduate college rankings impact where students apply and the selectivity of colleges?

Introduction
After the baby boom generation significantly increased the number and percentage of people
going to college-- as well as the number of postsecondary institutions-- many families found the college
application process to be daunting. Colleges were only publishing self-serving catalogues and viewbooks
that were severely biased representations of their institutions (Webster, 1992). U.S. News & World Report
sought to address the need for better information by providing consumers with a ranking similar to what

Consumer Reports provides for refrigerators, cars, televisions and so on. In 1983, USNWR published its
Best Colleges ranking. Since then, other publications such as The Princeton
first magazine issue of their
Review, M oney, and Forbes have joined in attempting to fill the void of information in the college search
process. Despite their efforts, U.S. News rankings continue to be the most popular and influential.
According to a 2012 Art & Science Group poll, "Students most often used USNWR college rankings to
help decide where to apply to colleges" (Morse, 2013). Today, students and parents often use college
rankings as a starting point in the college search process to learn more about schools and narrow down the
list of ones to consider (Gnolek, Falciano, and Kuncl, 2014).
U.S. News rankings are highly influential to students and parents due to their wide readership and

positive reputation. As Webster asserts, Although not without faults, [U.S. News rankings] have
improved over the years to become by far the best of the few rankings of undergraduate education
(1992). The U.S. News rankings were historically published as an issue of their magazine, but they have
since made the same information available online for free. This, of course, makes it easier for students
and parents to access the rankings in their search for a college.
College rankings have a great affect on attitudes toward college choice and subsequent norms of
what makes a "good institution." Students generally apply to higher-ranked schools and are likely to
chose to attend the highest ranked school within the list of schools to which they were accepted, although
there are exceptions to this trend. According to a student survey by Griffith and Rask, "Over 80% of the
first choice schools are ranked in the top 25 for either the National Universities or National Liberal Arts
Colleges categories by USNWR . Furthermore, over half of students surveyed chose to attend the highest
ranked school to which they were admitted (2005).
The publication bases its undergraduate Best Colleges rankings on seven different categories.

Their most recent methodology, according to the U.S. News, was as follows: graduation and retention

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Final Review of Literature Julia Henderson

rates (22.5%), undergraduate academic reputation (22.5%), student selectivity for the fall entering class
(12.5%), faculty resources for the academic year (20%), financial resources (10%), alumni giving (5%),

and graduation rate performance (7.5%) (Morse and Brooks, 2016). The category weights are, however,
tweaked from year to year, not only to improve their methodology, but also to ensure that the rankings
will be different from last year so that they can continue to sell more copies.
In this review of literature, I address the question of how undergraduate college rankings impact
where students apply and later matriculate as well as the impact on the selectivity of colleges. I discuss
the role of rankings in behaviors related to college choice and the divergent influences of rankings in
relation to factors of SAT scores, financial aid, race, and gender of prospective college students. I also
explain how student selectivity plays into rankings and how moving to the top 50 in rank affects the
acceptance rates of schools as well as the percentage of students accepted who ranked in the top 10% of
their high school class and the SAT percentiles within which students are accepted.

The Role of College Rankings in Student Application Decisions

Consumers make basic choices everyday-- which shoes to buy, which meal to order, which laptop
to purchase. Some of these expenditures, of course, are more expensive than others. The reason college
choice is so important, among other things, is that college tuition costs so much. One of the largest
investments the average American makes in their lifetime is likely a college education for themselves
and/or their children. As a result, parents want to know that their money is going to the best college
education for their child. Many people look at college rankings as an indicator of educational quality and
therefore consider a colleges rank in deciding which institution is best.
According to Ajzens theory of planned behavior, three forces go into a persons decision to
engage in a particular behavior. These three factors are attitudes toward that behavior, subjective norms
regarding the behavior, and perceived control over the behavior (Bowman and Bastedo, 2007). This
pattern of planned behavior applies to the behavior of engaging in college choice.
Students and parents attitudes toward particular institutions are both consciously and
subconsciously influenced by rankings. College rankings can consciously influence students and parents
who consider the rankings to be expert opinion that indicate the best quality institutions. According to a
report by Monks and Ehrenberg, two thirds of parents of high-achieving, college-bound seniors felt the
USNWR rankings to be very helpful in evaluating a colleges quality (1999). College rankings,
however, are not always a true indicator of quality of education; in 2004, Pike found that, U.S. News
undergraduate rankings are a poor predictor of the prevalence of educationally effective experiences
across institutions ( Bowman and Bastedo, 2007). A college ranked number fifty-five might have the

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Final Review of Literature Julia Henderson

same quality of education as a college ranked number one because USNWR rankings do not use
educational outcomes as a category from which ranks are calculated. Instead, they use non-academic
indicators that they expect to be correlated with how much students learn. Graduation and retention
rates, however, do not indicate learning outcomes but rather process outcomes. And while people might
mistake academic reputation for academic quality, it actually refers to the schools reputation in the
eyes of college presidents, deans, and admission directors (Webster, 1992). In addition, student
selectivity only indicates a high-achieving student body but does not guarantee that they are being
challenged. Some students and parents who do not view rankings as important may still subconsciously
adopt conceptions of which schools are the best because people naturally internalize the hierarchy of
rankings (Bowman and Bastedo, 2007).
College rankings contribute to subjective norms of what constitutes a good college. Therefore
when subjective norms are taken into account in college choice, so too are rankings. Subjective norms, in
this case, are the social pressures to attend the best school. In making decisions on where to apply, people
look to college rankings as an indicator of prestige. According to a report by Bowman and Bastedo,
because people are so concerned by what others might think, a parent might prefer that their child attend a
big name university instead of the local regional one--not because of difference in educational quality
but because of social pressures to go to the best college (2007). In turn, students will apply to higher
ranked schools because they care about what their parents and society in general think constitutes a
good college.
College rankings impact perceived control over college acceptance and consequently encourage
or discourage students from applying to certain colleges. Ranking publications sometimes include data on
SAT percentiles, GPA and class rank of accepted students. This provided information can affect students
perceptions that they will be accepted to their school of choice. Hypothetically,

If a students SAT score is below the 25th percentile for the college of his choice, he
might infer that his acceptance is unlikely and decide not to apply. Conversely, a
valedictorian might be highly motivated to apply if she discovers that only 64% of
incoming freshmen at her top-choice college graduated in the top 10% of their high
school class (Bowman and Bastedo).

Even if not explicitly stated, data on SAT and ACT composite scores as well as high school class standing
are calculated into a school's rank within the category of "student selectivity." Students may choose to
change the list of schools to which they are applying because they are afraid of rejection from high-ranked
schools and do not want to waste time and resources in the college application process. This effect causes
students to apply to lower-ranked schools rather than higher-ranked ones.

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Final Review of Literature Julia Henderson

The Varying Impact of College Rankings on Matriculation

College rankings not only affect students' decisions about which colleges to apply to, but also the
more important decision of where of attend. According to the Fall 2011 Cooperative Institutional
Research Program, "A freshman survey of the Higher Education Research Institute showed nearly one
quarter of first-time, full-time freshmen selected " rankings in national magazines" as "very important" in
deciding to go to a particular college" (Gnolek, Falciano and Kuncl, 2014). Moreover, in a 2007 survey of
freshman by UCLA, "The U.S. News rankings were placed tenth in the twenty-one criteria on which
students based their college choice" (Morse, 2008). While college rankings are generally important to
students in deciding where to attend school, factors like financial aid, race and gender can sometimes
impact the extent to which college ranking are considered.
College rankings are often considered more important than financial aid to high-ability students.
Research cited by Griffith and Rask, which surveyed application decisions of high-ability students, found
that "Academic considerations generally outweighed financial considerations in the choice of where to
apply" (2005). These students might share the misconception that college rankings are direct indicators of
the academic quality of an institution and therefore consider rankings to be more valuable than the grants
provided by a school. Because they are already applying to "big name" top-ranked schools due to the
influence of rankings, they will consequently be left with mostly high-ranked institutions from which to
choose in their matriculation decision, assuming they are accepted. As Griffith and Rask assert,
"Although financial aid packages [are] important in determining college choice, they are relatively less
important than other, non-monetary, factors the specific attributes of colleges, such as student to faculty
ratio and academic reputation, are very important to students when choosing a college" (2005).
Considering that "student to faculty ratio" and "academic reputation" are categories taken into account in
rankings, students who are aware of college ranking methodology would know that non-monetary factors
that were important to them equate a USNWR college's rank, and they would subsequently consider
college rankings in their college choice.
Students who pay full cost of attendance are generally more sensitive to college rankings than
those who recieve financial aid. This is likely because wealthier students tend to care more about prestige
and also have access to schools that better prepare them for acceptance to top-ranked colleges. Moreover,
a report by Morse found that "Students with the highest SAT scores considered rankings more than
lower-scoring students" (2013). According to a study by Griffith and Rask, "The average aided student is
about 1.6 percentage points less likely to attend a school ranked 10th vs. a school ranked 1st [than the]
the average full-pay student who is about 4.7 percentage points less likely to make that choice" ( 2005).

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Final Review of Literature Julia Henderson

This evidence is indicative of the pattern of non-aided students choosing to attend the highest ranked
school out of those to which he or she was accepted.
The matriculation of aided students is not affected by rankings to the same extent as that of
full-pay students because top-ranked schools often cost more and students' financial aid rarely covers full
tuition. Tution is so high at these institutions partly because as a result of the perception that "tuition costs
and instructional expenses signal quality and affect admissions outcomes, some colleges have actually
increased their tuition as a way to try to become 'elite'" (Gnolek, Falciano, and Kuncl, 2014). Conversely,
wealthy full-pay students are sometimes drawn to colleges that cost more because they think the price
equates a better education; because as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for."
The race and gender of students plays a notable role in their decision of where to attend college.
Minorities, and even more so full-pay minorities, tend to care less about ranking than the existing
minority population of the school. In terms of a general racial breakdown, rankings tend to factor most
highly in the college choice decisions of Asians, a little more to Caucasians than African Americans, and
least to Hispanics. As cited by Morse, "Asians, at 69%... [reported] that they discussed college rankings
with their parents Caucasians, 54%, African-Americans, 53%, and Hispanics 49%" (2013). More than
just discussing rankings, 75% of Asian students indicated that USNWR rankings were of greatest value to
them in making application decisions, compared 53% for Caucasians, 54% for African-Americans, and
45% of Hispanic students (Morse, 2013). In addition, as explained by Griffith and Rask, "In the aided
sample women are slightly less responsive to rank differences than men and in the full-pay sample the
school choice of minorities are less responsive to rank differences than non-minorities" (2005). These
trends combined, the conclusion is just as expected: the matriculation decision is most likely to be
significantly influenced by college rankings among white male applicants.

The Influence of College Rankings over Student Selectivity in College Admissions

The selectivity of schools in college admissions is a self-reinforcing phenomenon. The more
selective a school, the higher its rank; the higher its rank, the more applicants they get and can deny
admission, leading to an even lower acceptance rate--and thus a greater selectivity. In addition, greater
selectivity translates to better rankings because it is a category in the calculation of USNWR
rankings--student selectivity is the fourth highest weighted category out of seven, at 12.5% (Morse and
Brooks, 2016). This category is made up of acceptance rate (10%), high school class standing in top 10%
(25%), and composite SAT and ACT scores (65%) (Morse and Brooks, 2016). The positive feedback of
selectivity guarantees that highly-ranked schools will be ranked better and better every year--assuming

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other categories remain constant. This, in turn, makes it difficult for lesser-ranked colleges to break into
the top 50, though they nevertheless compete for better rankings.
Seeing that selectivity is considered in their rankings, USNWR--whether purposely or
not--incentivizes schools to be more selective in the students they accept. The easiest way to increase
selectivity is to increase yield of applications since the same number will be accepted but more students
will be rejected. Gnolek, Falciano, and Kuncl assert that "Some universities will actively solicit
applications from less qualified students in order to increase the number of application" Moreover, "Early
decisions processes are put in place or SAT scores may become optional because of anticipated effects on
rankings" (2014). College admissions policies that may be advertised as helpful to student applicants are
actually self-serving for the schools. For example,

At college fairs and other recruiting occasions, [schools] encourage many students to
apply, even those they know are not material for their institution simply to increase the
number of applicants they receive and therefore lower the proportion of students they
accept (Webster, 1992).

An increase in rank leads to an even lower acceptance rate, but most prominently when it comes
to institutions that are ranked in the top 50 or are moving to the front page of the rankings. As reported by
Monks and Ehrenberg, "When a university improves its rank it can expect a positive benefit the next year
as measured by more applications, higher enrollment, and improved SAT scores" (1999). From 1997 to
1998, Cornell University improved its rank by 8 places from 14th to 6th. This better rank "led to
approximately a 3 percentage point reduction in the institution's admit rate, a one percentage point
increase in yield, and approximately an 8 point increase in its entering freshmen's average SAT scores
[and] completed freshman applications to the university rose by over 10 percentage points" (Monks and
Ehrenberg, 1999). Changes in ranking within the top 50 of the USNWR ranking have a greater effect on
selectivity because as Bowman and Bastedo explain, "Refinements in organizational reputation of
non-elite institutions matter less to the public" (2007). Another fact to note is that "This [top 50] cutoff is
particularly important in the U.S. News format, since it constitutes the difference between appearing on
the front page versus secondary page in smaller font with less prestigious institutions" (Bowman and
Bastedo, 2007). Statistics show that moving to the front page significantly improves factors of selectivity
considered in calculating a college's rank. A study by Bowman and Bastedo showed that "Moving to the
top 50 results in a 3.6% decrease in acceptance rate provides a 2.3% increase in the proportion of
incoming freshmen who graduated in the top 10% of their high school class and a 3.9% increase in the
overall number of applications to the institution" (2007).

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Final Review of Literature Julia Henderson

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