" The trouble was that the rankings were self-reinforcing. If a college fared badly in U.S. News, its reputation would suffer, and conditions would deteriorate. Top students would avoid it, as would top professors. Alumni would howl and cut back on contributions. The ranking would tumble further. The ranking, in short, was destiny. "

― Cathy O'Neil , Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy