Which is the best list of the best colleges?

A couple weeks ago, President Obama introduced a plan to try to contain the cost of going to college. This was soon buried by a series of stories on Syria policy, with its high-intrigue mix of exceptionalist saber-rattling and Mr. Magoo diplomacy.

So in case you missed it, the administration's higher-ed plan has some good stuff in it. Dylan Matthews runs down the old, the new and the yet-undone. Perhaps the single biggest proposal here is a new set of college rankings—rankings based on how well schools are serving students.

College rankings are a thing every September, and they're becoming more of one. PayScale ranks schools based on graduate salaries; math-and-science heavyweight Harvey Mudd College is their top performer.