This article presents the "U.S. News" ranking profiles of four colleges, namely: (1) Smith College; (2) Washington University in St. Louis; (3) Colorado State University at Fort Collins; and (4) Whitman College. Smith College was in the top 10 of the nation's liberal-arts colleges, or just outside it, almost since the "U.S. News" rankings began. But for the past two years, it has barely clung to the top 20. Smith College has made some choices that officials know will result in a lower rank, including de-emphasizing SAT scores. But the Student Selectivity measure in the U.S. News rankings recognizes only SAT or ACT scores, the percentage of freshmen who were in the top 10 percent of their high-school classes, and the college's acceptance rate. The net result: Smith ranked 23rd in 1999 in Student Selectivity among liberal-arts colleges and fell to 41st this year. While Smith College lowered its rank, Washington University has moved up the list of the "U.S. News" rankings thanks to endowment gains and a change in how the magazine calculates faculty salaries. For Colorado State University, making progress with fewer resources will have to be its own reward. Colorado State has continued its decade-long trend of improvement: The institution's six-year graduation rate has risen to 63 percent from 54 percent, and the percentage of classes with 20 students or fewer has more than doubled, to 35 percent. Although these changes have not led to a rise in rank, the state university officials have devoted more resources to need-based aid rather than on its rank. On the other hand, Whitman College improved its acceptance and graduation rates by examining the reasons students left early or dropped out and adjusting financial aid.