Washington and Lee University has long ranked among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges. When its position fell from No. 11 to No. 21, many wondered whether what the decline really signaled and whether it would have a lasting impact. “W&L never manages to rankings. We are guided by our mission and our values, rather than by external judgments that change frequently, conflict with each other, and often fail to measure what is most important,” said President William Dudley in an essay September 2023 in response to the drop in W&L’s ranking. In this essay, President Dudley explained that U.S. News altered their methodology in 2023, creating large fluctuations in the ranking. He said that U.S. News eliminated the consideration of small class sizes and deemphasized graduation rate, two measures that W&L excelled in in past years. W&L Vice President of Communications and Strategic Initiatives Jessica Willett said that there are eight institutions that are ranked No. 13 ahead of W&L and only one point out of 100 that separates it from No. 13. “One little shift here or there in the methodology would really change the ranking, and it's just splitting hairs at that point,” she said. “I think all of those schools would provide a great education, and it's really what's important to the individual student and family.” In response to the sudden drop, Willett said the communications team decided to have President Dudley write an essay about the shift in the rankings and how W&L thinks about them. “I think we were concerned that people would blow it out of proportion,” she said. “We wanted to get ahead of the release and try to make sure that we got the facts out there and help to control the narrative so that people didn't panic.” Willett said that the essay helped contextualize the shift by emphasizing the shift of methodology, not a decline in the education W&L offers. Vice President of Admissions and Financial Aid Sally Stone Richmond said that the admissions department did not see or experience much variation in questions or concerns from prospective families. In fact, Richmond said that despite the drop, applications have increased 30% since the drop two years ago. “I think rankings offer a good initial perspective, but I think people probably most of the time care more about other factors,” said W&L Student Ambassador Schuler Hildenbrand. While rankings can give a snapshot, Richmond said they fail to capture many aspects of an institution. “I think they do not factor in the layered value of higher education,” she said. Willett said that the U.S. News’ rankings do not accurately reflect W&L’s standings. “How could it change so drastically in two years as they adjust those pieces? And there's some parts of it that are completely, that remain arbitrary. So while some are highly measured and highly scaled, others are arbitrary,” Willett said. “So until those two things are better aligned, I'm not sure that they can't really reflect that experience.” Willett stressed that the college rankings can successfully measure what they claim to, but it depends on the ranking and its methodology. “So it really depends on what's important to you,” she said. “I don't necessarily think the U.S. News has the best methodology these days, but again, it depends on what's important to each individual student or family.” Richmond said that the admissions team looks beyond the U.S. News’ rankings. She said that the metrics she believes reflect W&L’s success more accurately include student satisfaction with their experience, their growth in their four years, their return on investment and parent satisfaction. From a student perspective, Hildenbrand said that she does not believe rankings accurately reflect her experience. “I think rankings don't capture the really strong sense of community that exists at W&L,” she said. “I think W&L students are very goal oriented and that's a really valuable asset to have in a community for students to be surrounded by like-minded people.” Richmond said that W&L’s priorities remain consistent, regardless of rankings. “Our goal is to enact the university's mission as best possible,” she said. “We set goals around many different factors including to ensure that we are creating access for the highest achieving students, regardless of their background and income, to attend W&L.” She emphasized that W&L continues to prioritize small class sizes, student experience, student-faculty ratio, and strong student outcomes. She believes these factors shape the W&L value of a W&L education better than U.S. News’ fluctuating methodology.