NEW RANKINGS. U.S. News and World Report is planning two new rankings for colleges after a controversy over colleges using questionable tactics to increase their rankings. According to WSJ's The Numbers Guy, U.S. News will release a list of top historically black colleges and another list of good schools that are easier to get into. They also hinted at other lists in the works. Because U.S. News has dominated the information market on colleges -- mainly because compiling lists like this is massive amounts of work -- I think it's good that they're breaking out of their Ivy League-dominated lists. Such schools aren't right for everyone, and my major complaint of the rankings has been that they focus on elitism and leave out factors like diversity. That's something that could be solved by taking a step back and thinking about premium historically black colleges, but it's too bad that they have to be considered in a separate category to make rank. --Kay Steiger
