Whiff of a scandal as Columbia falls from 2nd to 18th in key list

THE NEW TIER: In the new rankings, Princeton ranks first, MIT is second, and Harvard, Yale & Stanford are tied for third. Last year, Columbia (in pic) was second to Princeton and tied with Harvard and MIT. Columbia said some of the data the university had submitted was outdated and incorrect

US News & World Report likes to say that it is performing a consumer service when it puts out its annual college rankings. But on Monday, those ratings were again called into question after the publication demoted Columbia University to No. 18 from No. 2 in its newest annual list, after a months-long controversy over whether the school had fudged its numbers.