Every fall U.S. News and World Report comes out with a much awaited ranking of American colleges and universities (you may have even used it yourself). While there has been much criticism of the methodology that the magazine employs as well as some “fudging” of the numbers by universities in their response to the questionnaire, this report represents what the chapter calls a “social reality.” What is meant by “social reality” and why does this college and university ranking provide a good analogy for accounting?