The influence of the US News and World Report collegiate rankings on the matriculation decision of high-ability students: 1995–2004

The annual US News and World Report (USNWR) Guide to America's Best Colleges is much anticipated by both high-ability high school seniors and college and university administrators. In this paper, we use a decade of Colgate University Admitted Student Questionnaire surveys to estimate the influence of changes in a school's USNWR rank on the probability of matriculation. We find that school choice is responsive to changes in rank, that the sensitivity to rank declines at lower ranks, and this sensitivity is independent of other objective measures of quality. The importance of the rankings can also be different for women, minorities, and the highest ability aided students. They have also gotten more important over time for aided students. Our results suggest that it is rational for college administrators to pay attention to their USNWR rank because it is an important factor in yielding accepted students.