Once more, the largest and longest running survey of new U.S. college students refutes the often-stated belief by many in higher education that the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings are the primary factor in the average student's choice of college. That conclusion comes from the University of California—Los Angeles's just-released survey, "The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2012." This year's data is based on the responses of 192,912 first-year students at 238 U.S. four-year colleges and universities who entered college in fall 2012.