Columbia University Withdraws from U.S. News Undergraduate Rankings, Citing Flawed Methodology and Broader Concerns

Columbia University announced Tuesday that it will no longer submit data to U.S. News & World Report for its undergraduate rankings, citing deep concerns over how the rankings fail to reflect the lived student experience or institutional values.

In an official statement, Columbia explained, “We have concluded that the rankings do not accurately capture the student experience or the priorities of the institution.” The decision follows the university’s earlier withdrawal from the U.S. News rankings of its law, medical, and nursing schools, and comes amid mounting national scrutiny of ranking systems in higher education.

The university emphasized that rankings often distort the decision-making process for prospective students by reducing a complex educational ecosystem into simplified metrics. “We remain concerned with the role that rankings have assumed in the undergraduate application process—both in the outsize influence they may play with prospective students, and in how they distill a university’s profile into a composite of data categories. Much is lost in this approach,” the statement read.

Columbia also pointed to the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action as a factor in its decision, calling the moment “historic” and suggesting it could catalyze significant changes in admissions policy that cannot yet be fully anticipated.

Rather than submit to U.S. News, Columbia will now publish detailed data for Columbia College, Columbia Engineering, and Columbia School of General Studies through the Common Data Set initiative, making that information publicly accessible through its institutional research office.

This move follows a tumultuous two-year period in Columbia’s relationship with U.S. News. In 2022, the university admitted to submitting inaccurate data for the 2022 edition of the Best Colleges rankings after mathematics professor Michael Thaddeus publicly challenged its reported figures. Initially defending its numbers, Columbia later acknowledged flaws, particularly regarding faculty credentials and class sizes, stating: “We determined we had previously relied on outdated and/or incorrect methodologies. We have changed those methodologies for current and future data submissions.”

Unlike the more confrontational tone taken by other universities in withdrawing from rankings, Columbia’s announcement struck a measured balance, even commending recent adjustments by U.S. News to prioritize outcome-based measures. “We are especially encouraged by the emergence of new tools and resources that demonstrate outcomes, an area where the U.S. Department of Education has shown welcome leadership,” the university said. “To that end, the university applauds U.S. News’ recent announcement that it will change its undergraduate rankings methodology to focus on success in graduating students from different backgrounds.”

Despite Columbia’s exit, U.S. News has made clear that it will continue ranking all schools—regardless of participation. “Students rely on the rankings and information we provide to navigate the confusing and uncertain admissions process,” said U.S. News CEO Eric J. Gertler. “Our critics tend to attribute every issue faced by academia—including the impending Supreme Court case mentioned in Columbia’s announcement—to our rankings.”

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Columbia now joins Colorado College, Rhode Island School of Design, and Stillman College in opting out of the undergraduate rankings. Whether more institutions will follow, as they did in the widespread law and medical school exodus, remains to be seen. Likewise, the impact of U.S. News’ promised methodology revisions on the rankings themselves has yet to be fully understood.