This summer, Forbes magazine published its new rankings of "America's Best Colleges," implying that it had developed a methodology that would give the public the information that it needed to choose a college wisely. "U.S. News & World Report," which in 1983 published the first annual ranking, just announced its latest ratings last week--including new rankings of "up- and coming" colleges and of institutions favored by high-school counselors. The publication has spawned what has become a cottage industry, transformed how the public thinks about higher education, and in the process made a lot of money. In this article, the author dissects the various rankings and discusses the validity of their methodologies with those responsible for publishing them in an effort to explain to a wide range of university constituencies why universities were rated where they were.