<p>Back in the day, most of the world used the Barron’s guide to measure a university’s strength, so to me, the USNWR rankings, while somewhat reliable, are not 100 percent fool-proof. Currently they are the “bible” for college rankings, but just like ESPN is the top source for sports news, one can only take in 50 percent of their opinions before you realize they are biased and horribly racists. There are 50 or more great colleges that, personally, I would feel great about attending (James Madison, CMU, UNC-Chapel Hill, Boston U.,etc).</p>