Kaplan Survey: 70 Percent of Admissions Officers Believe College Rankings Have Lost Some Prestige

A new survey from global education company Kaplan of more than 200 college admissions officers finds that 70 percent believe college and university rankings have "lost some of their prestige over the last couple of years."* This represents a significant increase from the 56 percent who held this view in Kaplan's 2023 survey, but a slight drop from the 75 percent who felt this way in Kaplan's 2024 survey. These results come on the heels of U.S. News & World Report releasing its highly anticipated 2026 rankings today, September 23. It also comes at a time when some of the country's most selective colleges and universities, including Columbia, which cited the rankings' "outsized influence", have stopped participating, and as others continue to participate, but only reluctantly.

Still, Kaplan's latest survey finds that 87% of colleges and universities continue to participate in the rankings and have no plans to withdraw, with only a handful considering withdrawing, closely tracking its findings from the past two years.

Admissions officers who participated in Kaplan's survey shared the following opinions:

• "They're a double-edged sword. The marketplace demands we discuss rankings but no singular ranking has been able to successfully encapsulate all that would be a school. Moreover, rankings often reflect the resources of the students that attend a school, or the resources schools have at their disposal."
• "There seems to be less of a frenzy over them as compared to 5-10 years ago. I think this is a positive thing as you can easily see that sometimes the movements on lists seem arbitrary."
• "The current high school aged students we work with do not seem to care as much about rankings. Years ago, I remember getting asked regularly about rankings when talking with prospective students, but not nearly as much now."
• "We know that rankings aren't precise, but we do consider them as a recruiting tool in helping students, particularly those from underserved backgrounds, learn about a college they may have never heard of before beginning the admissions process."

Jason Bedford, senior vice president, Kaplan, said:

"Admissions officers sometimes joke they don't get much sleep the night before the U.S. News rankings are released, knowing their presidents and donors are watching closely. For many colleges and universities, a strong showing can boost recruiting and fundraising, while a weaker one can make those efforts harder. At Kaplan, we recognize that the rankings include valuable statistics like graduation and retention rates, but we caution students against letting them outweigh other priorities. Cost, financial aid, campus fit, career readiness, and the kind of job you get after graduation often matter more in the long run. That's why we urge families to visit schools, talk with students, alumni, and faculty, and really explore the culture. Through that process, they may discover personal factors that go far beyond the rankings—and find schools that are even better matches."

Contact [email protected] to speak with a college admissions expert at Kaplan.

*Admissions officers from 218 of the nation's top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled by U.S. News & World Report – were polled by e-mail between July and August 2025.

About Kaplan

Kaplan, Inc. is a global educational services company that helps individuals and institutions advance their goals in an ever-changing world. Our broad portfolio of solutions help students and professionals further their education and careers, universities and educational institutions attract and support students, and businesses maximize employee recruitment, retainment, and development. Stanley Kaplan founded our company in 1938 with a mission to expand educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Today, our thousands of employees working in 27 countries/regions continue Stanley's mission as they serve about 1.3 million students and professionals, 16,000 corporate clients, and 2,700 schools, school districts, colleges, and universities worldwide. Kaplan is a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC). Learn more at kaplan.com.

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC)

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Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, [email protected]