Margo Gray

But there's an even quicker way to move up the ladder. Misreport the data to U.S. News and World Report. And that's exactly what Columbia University did.

In 2021, Columbia University had big news to celebrate. For the past decade, US News and World Report had ranked the university at number four or number five. But this year, Columbia climbed to the coveted number two spot out of nearly 400 national universities.

In 2021, Columbia University had big news to celebrate. For the past decade, US News and World Report had ranked the university at number four or number five. But this year, Columbia climbed to the coveted number two spot out of nearly 400 national universities.

In 2021, Columbia University had big news to celebrate. For the past decade, US News and World Report had ranked the university at number four or number five. But this year, Columbia climbed to the coveted number two spot out of nearly 400 national universities.

The university's dean of undergraduate admissions enthusiastically wrote on the university website, Columbia is proud of all the factors that led U.S. News & World Report to see us as one of the best universities in the world. We have been working on every level to support our students and are proud to be recognized for this.

The university's dean of undergraduate admissions enthusiastically wrote on the university website, Columbia is proud of all the factors that led U.S. News & World Report to see us as one of the best universities in the world. We have been working on every level to support our students and are proud to be recognized for this.

The university's dean of undergraduate admissions enthusiastically wrote on the university website, Columbia is proud of all the factors that led U.S. News & World Report to see us as one of the best universities in the world. We have been working on every level to support our students and are proud to be recognized for this.

This is Michael Thaddeus. He's been a math professor at Columbia since 1998.

This is Michael Thaddeus. He's been a math professor at Columbia since 1998.

This is Michael Thaddeus. He's been a math professor at Columbia since 1998.

If Thaddeus knows two things very well, it's Columbia University and numbers. And the number two ranking wasn't sitting right with him.

If Thaddeus knows two things very well, it's Columbia University and numbers. And the number two ranking wasn't sitting right with him.

If Thaddeus knows two things very well, it's Columbia University and numbers. And the number two ranking wasn't sitting right with him.

Thaddeus wanted to understand what had driven Columbia's rise in the rankings. So he subscribed to US News and World Report to access the specific data Columbia had self-reported. For instance, Columbia claimed that 82.5% of its courses had fewer than 20 students, meaning a large majority of courses were seminar style.

Thaddeus wanted to understand what had driven Columbia's rise in the rankings. So he subscribed to US News and World Report to access the specific data Columbia had self-reported. For instance, Columbia claimed that 82.5% of its courses had fewer than 20 students, meaning a large majority of courses were seminar style.

Thaddeus wanted to understand what had driven Columbia's rise in the rankings. So he subscribed to US News and World Report to access the specific data Columbia had self-reported. For instance, Columbia claimed that 82.5% of its courses had fewer than 20 students, meaning a large majority of courses were seminar style.

From his experience of more than two decades at the school, Thaddeus was skeptical. So he set about calculating the percentage himself.

From his experience of more than two decades at the school, Thaddeus was skeptical. So he set about calculating the percentage himself.

From his experience of more than two decades at the school, Thaddeus was skeptical. So he set about calculating the percentage himself.

Thaddeus found that the real number was far lower than the reported 82.5%. The correct figure was below 67%. As he kept crunching the numbers, more discrepancies emerged. Columbia had reported a student to faculty ratio of six to one, but Thaddeus' calculations suggested it was closer to 11 to one. Then came one of the most startling claims.