Kaplan Survey: Admissions Officers’ Skepticism of College Rankings Remains High, with 70 Percent Saying They’ve Lost Prestige

Kaplan’s 2026 survey shows persistent skepticism about college rankings’ prestige even as most institutions continue to participate.

See more from StockTitan in Google Search and AI answers. Adds StockTitan as a preferred source · opens Google

Add on Google Not now

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A new survey from global education company Kaplan of more than 200 college admissions officers finds that 70 percent believe college and university rankings have “lost some of their prestige over the last couple of years.”* The findings come as U.S. News & World Report releases its highly anticipated 2027 college rankings today, September 22. The 70 percent is unchanged from Kaplan’s 2025 survey, confirming that admissions officers’ views have remained steady over the past year. Looking further back, 75 percent expressed this view in Kaplan’s 2024 survey, compared with 56 percent in 2023, indicating that concerns about the prestige of college rankings remain substantially more widespread than they were three years ago.

Still, Kaplan’s 2026 survey finds that 88% of colleges and universities plan to continue participating in the rankings and have no plans to withdraw, closely tracking its findings from previous years.

Admissions officers who participated in Kaplan’s survey shared the following opinions, with one common theme about the rankings prevailing: fairness.

• “I think that there's a way that these can be helpful, but there are too many families who rely solely on these numbers to decide whether or not they're going to allow their child to apply/attend. A school is more than just some numbers, and some schools also game the system, so the numbers don't tell the whole story.”
• “It does not feel like a fair playing field, but knowing it means something to families, we have to do it.”
• “Most everyday students don't necessarily care. I also think rankings are often given based on name and reputation, rather than what an institution is currently doing.”
• “Rankings continue to feel like something parents feel they should ask about because they are important, but the majority of the general public does not understand the rankings or what goes into them.”

Jason Bedford, senior vice president, Kaplan, said:

“The release of the rankings can feel like report card day for colleges and universities, with presidents, trustees, donors, and admissions officers all anxiously waiting to see the grade. There’s a reason many higher education stakeholders joke that they don’t sleep particularly well the night before. At Kaplan, we believe the rankings can be a useful tool for students and families, providing valuable information on things like graduation and retention rates, but the risk is giving them too much weight. Families are increasingly focused on affordability and return on investment, and that means looking closely at cost, financial aid, career readiness, and employment outcomes, not simply where a school lands on a list. We encourage students and parents to dig deeper by visiting campuses and talking with students, alumni, and faculty. Ultimately, the best school isn’t necessarily the one with the highest ranking. It’s the one that offers the right combination of value, experience, opportunity, and fit.”

Contact russell.schaffer@kaplan.com to speak with a college admissions expert at Kaplan.

*Admissions officers from 213 of the nation’s top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled by U.S. News & World Report – were polled by e-mail between July and September 2026.

About Kaplan

Kaplan, Inc. is a global education company that helps individuals and institutions advance their goals in an ever-changing world. Our broad portfolio of solutions helps students and professionals further their education and careers, universities and educational institutions attract and support students, and businesses maximize employee recruitment, retention, and development. Stanley Kaplan founded our company in 1938 with a mission to expand educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Today, our thousands of employees working in 40 countries/regions continue Stanley’s mission as they serve about 1.2 million students and professionals, 16,000 corporate clients, and 2,700 schools, school districts, colleges, and universities worldwide. Kaplan is a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). Learn more at kaplan.com.

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260922712798/en/

Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com

Source: Kaplan