Harvard is the number one college nationwide for the fifth year in a row, according to the annual U.S. News & World Report survey released this month.

In the "1995 America's Best Colleges" poll, Princeton and Yale ranked second and third respectively.

But Harvard administrators said yesterday that college rankings should not be overemphasized.

"The quality of Harvard speaks for itself," said Harvard News and Public Affairs director Joe Wrinn. "We don't wish to comment on any specific survey."

Wrinn said prospective students should look beyond arbitrary college rankings when choosing schools.

"I would hope they come to Harvard because it fills their individual needs and goals, not because it was ranked high in a survey of any kind," he said.

But Bob Morse, director of research for "America's Best Colleges," said surveys are more useful in broadly placing colleges into different tiers than in distinguishing between similarly ranked schools.

"We think it is worth giving the score so people can be smart enough to see there isn't that much difference [between schools ranked close to each other]," Morse said. "But there is a difference between 100 and 85."

Morse emphasized, however, that rank lists are only "one tool" for selecting colleges.

"I think some people take them too seriously," he said.

Most students at Harvard said the survey was not a significant factor when choosing colleges.

"Since I applied to Harvard because of the liberal arts program the rank is of no concern of mine," Alexandra Trias '96 said. "It's part of the whole Harvard myth."

But one student, Alana McMahon '96, said she still has some interest in the college rank list. "I can tell all my friends at Yale that when I go home," she said.

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 said information about colleges can be very helpful to parents, students, and counselors, "but precise rank is a good deal less important."

"A student who can get in a top institution might in fact be better served by one with a lower rank, even a considerably lower rank," Fitzsimmons said.

And even a significant drop in rank-such as Cornell's fall from 10 to 15 in this year's survey--does not make "any significant difference in the long-run," he said.