Columbia and U.S. News Rankings

I think US News Rankings is a great example of rational herding.

Everyone(Both people who do and don't optimize for ranking) kind of agrees that the ranking is largely meaningless.

Nevertheless, they are still incentivized to participate.

For a student, a higher ranking increases the status of their degree. They might think that "status" is arbitrary, but that doesn't change the fact that it is an effective signal to employers. So it still makes sense to buy in.

For an academic, a higher ranking increases their legitamacy in their field. They might know that the legitamacy of research has nothing to do with the institution who employs the researcher, but that doesn't change the fact that it signals to Publications, Future employers, peers, etc. So it makes sense to buy in.

For an employer, hiring people from high ranking universities is an easy way to signal to their higher ups that they've hired the right people.

The list goes on.

Everyone has gotten stuck in this feedback loop of knowing ranking is irrelevant, but nevertheless having the incentive to buy in.