The magazine’s reaction to any new ranking system is “Welcome to the club,” according to Richard Folkers, director of media relations for U.S. News.
Both Avery and Hoxby said that they and their co-authors—Professors Mark E. Glickman of Boston University and Andrew Metrick of the University of Pennsylvania—did not necessarily set out to create a replacement for U.S. News’ rankings.
“What we are anxious to do is to make everyone recognize that the rankings out there aren’t transparent, are manipulable, and are frequently thought to be science in a way they’re not,” Avery said.
Hoxby stressed that students should not accept the weighting U.S. News uses in its system. But students should not exclusively use the NBER rankings either.
“If you’re a student I wouldn’t advise you to just look at what other students prefer,” Hoxby said. “Look at several indicators for a college and put your own weight on things.”