During this time, Northeastern has advanced in national rankings. It placed 42nd in the 2014–15 "U.S. News & World Report"'s "Best Colleges Guide", a 7 position jump from 2013–14 and a 27 place gain just since 2010–11. Some have argued that Northeastern's recent rise in the rankings shows that the university has "cracked the code" to academic rankings, while others have suggested that it has figured out how to "game the system". The 2021 edition of "U.S. News & World Report" ranked Northeastern 49th in its annual ranking of National Universities.