<p>Ranking are important to many, but I think even more is the concept of “selectivity.” Even if selectivity is only 1.5% of a college’s ranking, I believe it is about 150% in a candidate’s mind. Everyone wants to be a member in the most selective country club; how it “ranks” compared to other clubs is a figment of other criteria that are important to the ranker, but far, far less important to the consumer. Selectivity is top of mind for the college consumer. USNWR really doesn’t want to acknowledge the primacy of selectivity, because then anyone could rank. In fact, we do.</p>