People have been obsessed with private school college rankings for years now. I just found this NYC private schools rankings article from 1998. This quote from The Observer may give you a chuckle:
Caroline Erisman, college counselor at the Hewitt School, said obsession with college placement has gotten out of hand. “I mean, I’ve gotten calls asking me if I have liability insurance,” she said. “Some people will actually try to sue if they feel that you haven’t done your best at placing their kids at a prestigious college.”