"I don't think a sophisticated reader will make a lot of a few places or twenty or thirty places," Fitzsimmons said.

Administrators from other Ivy League schools said they also have doubts about the validity of college rank lists, including the U.S. News survey.

Director of Public Affairs and Special Assistant to the President at Yale Gary Fryer said the academic community takes the yearly survey "with a grain of salt, and a rather large grain at that."

Press Officer for Princeton University Jackie Savani said the gap between differently ranked colleges is often minimal.

For example Yale earned only .2 points less than Princeton, Savani said.

And the arbitrary scoring system ignores qualitative differences among colleges, Savani added.

"Harvard may be the best school in the country, but it is obviously not the best school for every individual," she said.

In determining the rank, U.S. News considers several factors including SAT scores, admission rates, and alumni satisfaction