Parke Muth is a former associate dean of admissions at University of Virginia and an independent college counselor. His take on the US News rankings, as quoted in this article in the Yale Daily News, sums up the problem with choosing your college based on a purported ranking.
“'[The US News ranking] wasn’t done by a bunch of scientists — it was just a few guys wondering how to sell more magazines,’ Muth said. ‘The idea that there is somehow a distinction between schools a few places apart on rankings is just ridiculous.’”