[cuteboy19]

This is just the wrong way to look at it. Clearly, there is real demand for rankings by students. No one is stupid enough to think that there is some real difference between #47 and #48. But obviously #47 is very different from #26.

Just because you can't get an exact measurement does not mean that a metric does not exist or is not useful.

[brewdad]

I would argue that the difference between 47 and 26 comes down largely to field of study or cost of attendance.

The top 10-15 offer an almost indisputable advantage with the top 5 or so being a tier unto itself. Anything outside of those groups is largely "it depends" and 50-100 forms another tier where total cost of attendance largely dictates whether one school is "better" than another.