Dive Brief:

• A new report says that college rankings have a definite effect on where prospective college students apply.
• The effect applies to both quality-of-life rankings (such as "happiest students" or "most beautiful campus") or academic rankings.
• Landing on the Princeton Review's "happy students" list drove an almost 3% increase in applications; being on the "least happy students" list led to about a 5% drop.

Dive Insight:

It's easy for schools and experts to dismiss the importance of rankings, but a study like this shows they may do so at their peril. The report's authors make an important point: Applying to college is a confusing process with limited information and such lists offer a way to make sense of it, particularly in the absence of talking to current or former students, and without a campus visit.