Last updated February 17, 2023.
Welcome to usnews.com, which is published by U.S. News & World Report, L.P. (“U.S. News”). These Terms and Conditions apply to www.usnews.com, our paid content, and any other of our or our affiliates’ websites, emails, digital services or mobile or other applications on which a link to these Terms and Conditions appears (collectively, the “U.S. News Services” and include without limitation collegeadvisor.com, which is operated by USN College Advisor, Inc.), all of which U.S. News Services are provided by U.S. News or one of its affiliates at any time and from time to time in its sole discretion. (As used in these Terms and Conditions, “U.S. News” includes any affiliates of U.S. News that operate a U.S. News Service and include without limitation USN College Advisor, Inc.) U.S. News may change, suspend or discontinue any or all of the U.S. News Services at any time. U.S. News does not control, and is not responsible for, and these Terms and Conditions do not apply to, any third-party site to which the U.S. News Services link or that links to any U.S. News Services.
You agree that your use of the U.S. News Services is subject to the following Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions are a legal contract between you and U.S. News, so you should review them carefully before using the U.S. News Services. If you do not agree with the Terms and Conditions in their entirety, please do not use any U.S. News Services. These Terms and Conditions may be modified at any time and from time to time; the date of the most recent changes or revisions will appear on this page. Continued access to the U.S. News Services by you will constitute your acceptance of any changes or revisions to these Terms and Conditions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any changes to the arbitration provisions in these Terms and Conditions apply to you only after you have manifested your agreement to the new arbitration provisions. Portions of the U.S. News Services may be governed by different or additional terms and conditions. In the event of a conflict between any provision of these Terms and Conditions, on the one hand, and any specific terms and conditions for a particular U.S. News Service, on the other hand, the applicable provision of the specific terms and conditions for that U.S. News Service shall prevail with respect to your use of the U.S. News Services.
NOTICE REGARDING DISPUTE RESOLUTION: THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAIN AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER THAT APPLY TO ALL CLAIMS BROUGHT AGAINST U.S. NEWS AND AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. PLEASE READ THE CLASS ACTION WAIVER AND ARBITRATION SECTIONS BELOW CAREFULLY.
The materials and tools contained on the U.S. News Services are provided by U.S. News as a service to you for your noncommercial, personal use on an “as is, as available” basis and may be used by you for informational purposes only. You acknowledge that you are using the U.S. News Services at your own risk. U.S. News assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in these materials. U.S. News makes no commitment to update the information contained herein. U.S. News makes no, and expressly disclaims any and all, representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the U.S. News Services, including without limitation the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of text, graphics, links, products and services, and other items accessed from or via the U.S. News Services, or that use of the U.S. News Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components. No advice or information given by U.S. News or any other party on the U.S. News Services shall create any warranty or liability. The content provided through U.S. News Services should be used for informational purposes only; the content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. Always seek the advice of a relevant professional with any questions about any health, financial or other decision you are seeking to make. In the case of our product reviews, consumers should always consult the manufacturer and/or their dealer/distributor for the most up-to-date product information, features and specifications.
U.S. NEWS DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE MATERIALS ON THE U.S. NEWS SERVICES IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL U.S. NEWS OR ANY OF ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, OR THEIR RESPECTIVE CONSTITUENT ENTITIES, PARTNERS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR REPRESENTATIVES BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL, AND INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST REVENUES OR LOST PROFITS, ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, RELIANCE ON, OR PERFORMANCE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE U.S. NEWS SERVICES. YOUR SOLE REMEDY IN THE EVENT OF ANY DEFICIENCY, DEFECT, FAILURE, ERROR OR INTERRUPTION IN THE U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR ANY GOODS OR SERVICES OFFERED FOR SALE THROUGH THE U.S. NEWS SERVICES SHALL BE TO REQUEST THAT U.S. NEWS CORRECT THE MATTER OR, IF U.S. NEWS FAILS TO DO SO, TO DISCONTINUE USE OF THE U.S. NEWS SERVICES. IN NO EVENT SHALL U.S. NEWS’S LIABILITY EXCEED AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO ALL FEES PAID BY YOU TO U.S. NEWS IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE U.S. NEWS SERVICES.
U.S. News periodically schedules system downtime for maintenance and other purposes. Unplanned outages also may occur. U.S. News shall have no liability for the resulting unavailability of the U.S. News Services or for any loss of data or transactions caused by planned or unplanned system outages, or any outages of web host providers or the Internet infrastructure and network external to the U.S. News Services.
Copyright
All materials published on or in the U.S. News Services are protected by copyright laws, and may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, resold, displayed, broadcast, or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express written permission of either U.S. News or, in the case of content licensed by U.S. News from third parties, the entity that is credited as the copyright holder of such licensed content. You may download freely accessible material (one copy per page) from this U.S. News Services for your personal and noncommercial use only, without altering or removing any trademark, copyright, or other notice from such material; you must pay a fee to access that content which requires a fee for access. To request use of U.S. News Services content – other than personal, non-commercial use as described above – contact [email protected] to request specific, written authorization, which may require payment of a fee and may be granted or denied in the sole discretion of U.S. News.
In the event you believe that any content posted on the U.S. News Services infringes your copyright or other intellectual-property rights, you may notify U.S. News by providing the information required by the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Action of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 512, to U.S. News’s Copyright Agent:
Attention: Copyright Agent
U.S. News & World Report L.P.
129 West 29th Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001
(t) 212.210.6390
[email protected]
User Generated Content
U.S. News may provide users an opportunity to transmit or post content, which may include text, videos, photographs, images, sound files and/or other content, to the U.S. News Services (collectively, “User Content”) and may provide for the hosting, sharing and/or publishing of such User Content. U.S. News does not necessarily endorse, support, sanction, encourage, or agree with User Content and expressly disclaims any and all liability in connection with any User Content.
You shall not transmit or post any User Content that: (a) is unlawful, threatening, harassing, abusive, false, inaccurate, deceptive, misleading, offensive, distasteful, inappropriate, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent, invasive of another’s privacy or harmful to minors in any way; (b) constitutes or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national, or international law; (c) is copyrighted, protected by trade secret, patent, trademark or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to submit or post the material and to grant U.S. News all of the license rights granted herein; (d) refers derisively to the goods or services of others; (e) includes any disruptive elements that may damage or interfere with the U.S. News Services such as malware, spyware or other malicious code; (f) includes advertisements or solicitations of business; (g) impersonates another person; (h) includes any person’s full name or personal or identifying information without that person’s authorization; (i) violates the law or otherwise violates these Terms and Conditions; or (j) provides a link to any of the above.
In connection with any User Content that you submit, you affirm, represent, and/or warrant that: (i) you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to use, and to authorize U.S. News to use, all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to any and all User Content to enable inclusion and use of the User Content in the manner contemplated by the U.S. News Services and these Terms and Conditions; (ii) you have the written consent, release, and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in the User Content to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion and use of the User Content in the manner contemplated by the U.S. News Services and these Terms and Conditions; and (iii) it complies with these Terms and Conditions.
You understand that all User Content is the sole responsibility of the person who transmits or posts that User Content. This means that you, and not U.S. News, are entirely and solely responsible for all User Content that you transmit or post and for the consequences of U.S. News publishing such User Content. U.S. News does not and cannot review the User Content transmitted or posted by users and is not responsible for such content. However, U.S. News shall have the right, but not the obligation, to refuse, delete, move, remove, or edit any User Content that violates these Terms and Conditions, the U.S. News Acceptable Use Policy or is otherwise objectionable, as determined by U.S. News in its sole discretion and without notice. Any specific complaints regarding User Content must be directed to [email protected], and any promise by U.S. News to investigate, delete, remove, or otherwise edit any User Content shall be non-binding unless expressly provided in writing by the General Counsel of U.S. News.
You agree to indemnify U.S. News and its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and each of their respective constituent entities, partners, officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives, against, and to hold each of them harmless from, any and all claims and liabilities (including attorney’s fees) that may arise from your use of the U.S. News Services, your transmission or posting of User Content, your unauthorized use of material obtained from the U.S. News Services, your breach of these Terms and Conditions or the U.S. News Acceptable Use Policy, your violation of any law, regulation or any right of any other person or entity, and any unauthorized use of your account or password. U.S. News reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter which is subject to indemnification under this section. In such case, you agree to cooperate with any reasonable requests assisting our defense of such matter.
U.S. News does not claim any ownership rights in the User Content. By transmitting or posting User Content, you grant to U.S. News the perpetual, non-terminable, worldwide, nonexclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable right and license to use, reproduce, edit, remove, modify (including the size and aspect ratio of photographs), publish, transmit, display, distribute, have distributed, promote, perform, translate, and prepare derivative works of, all or any portion of such User Content in any form, in any medium now existing or hereinafter invented for any purpose, including commercial uses, including without limitation, in connection with:
- the U.S. News Services,
- other U.S. News publications,
- U.S. News’s (and our successors’) business,
- promoting and redistributing part or all of the U.S. News Services (and derivative works thereof) without additional notice, approval, consent, compensation or attribution, or
- stories featuring the U.S. News Services or any content on the U.S. News Services in other news and media websites or other outlets.
You waive any moral rights you may have in the User Content. You also grant each user of the U.S. News Services a non-exclusive license to access your User Content through the U.S. News Services, and to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display and perform such User Content as permitted through the functionality of the U.S. News Services and under these Terms and Conditions.
Beta Testing
From time to time, users of certain portions of the U.S. News Services may be given the opportunity to volunteer to become part of a group of “Beta Testers.” Beta Testers will review, test and provide written and/or verbal Feedback on new ideas and features for U.S. News Services. If you volunteer to be a Beta Tester, you agree (i) that all concepts, design mockups, content or other information shared with you as a Beta Tester is confidential information of U.S. News and that you will keep it confidential, use it only in connection with your role as a Beta Tester, and not disclose it to any other person, and (ii) that U.S. News will be the sole owner of all right, title and interest in and to any Feedback you provide to U.S. News in connection with your role as a Beta Tester. For purposes hereof, “Feedback” means any comments, suggestions, expectations, test results, error data, bug reports or other information or materials that you provide to U.S. News in connection with your role as a Beta Tester.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions to U.S. News College Compass and U.S. News Graduate School Compass (collectively, “Compass”) are available at usnews.com. Such subscriptions may include access to the electronic edition of a U.S. News guidebook. If you purchase a one-year subscription to Compass through usnews.com, you may request a refund within 24 hours of purchase. Please send an email to [email protected]. Refund requests will not be honored unless submitted within 24 hours of purchase.
Third Party Provider Content Notices
By accessing the U.S. News Services, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (a) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (b) no Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (c) the Associated Press will not be liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any Associated Press materials or in the transmission or delivery of any part thereof or for any damages arising therefrom or occasioned thereby; (d) the Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions, and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (e) the Associated Press reserves the right to audit your use of Associated Press materials or any portion thereof at any time.
Paid Content and Content Available Only to Registered Users
Purchasers of paid content or content that is available only to registered users of the applicable U.S. News Service are not permitted to share, distribute, sell, or otherwise transfer their password to other individuals. The password is for the purchaser’s or registrant’s sole use. Significant or unusual use of a single password (including but not limited to significant use of a single password on multiple computers or devices) could result in suspension of that password. Paid content and content available only to registered users is protected by copyright laws, and may not be transmitted (whether by e-mail or otherwise), reproduced, republished, distributed, resold, displayed, broadcast, or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express written permission of U.S. News.
Featured Services
Some of the features included in the U.S. News Services are provided by third parties. The companies that U.S. News selects as service providers offer products and services that site visitors may find useful. U.S. News in certain cases may have a business relationship with the third parties that it selects as service providers. U.S. News is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any advice or information given, or of any statement made, by the companies providing featured services, or for the content, services, products, or advertising on or available from their websites, or for the availability and operations of their websites.
Governing Law and Venue
You agree that any claim, action, or proceeding arising out of these Terms and Conditions, or your use of the U.S. News Services, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts to be wholly performed therein.
Judicial proceedings (if any) that are excluded from the arbitration agreement in the Arbitration section below must be brought in state or federal courts located in New York County, New York. You and U.S. News both consent to venue and personal jurisdiction in New York County, New York.
Claims Deadline
You agree to present any claims against U.S. News with respect to these Terms and Conditions and/or your use of the U.S. News Services within one year of the incident from which the claim arose, and you acknowledge that this expressly limits the applicable statute of limitations to one year.
Class Action Waiver
Please Read This Following Clause (the “Class Action Waiver”) Carefully—It Significantly Affects Your Legal Rights.
You agree that by using the U.S. News Services, each of you and U.S. News are waiving the right and ability to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any class action in any dispute arising from your use of the U.S. News Services. If you do not agree with this Class Action Waiver in its entirety, you are expressly forbidden from using the U.S. News Services.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT ACT IN ANY REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY OR PARTICIPATE AS A MEMBER OF A CLASS OF CLAIMANTS IN ANY LAWSUIT AGAINST U.S. NEWS IN ANY COURT OR ARBITRATION WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIMS OR DISPUTES. YOU AND U.S. NEWS MAY BRING LEGAL CLAIMS AGAINST EACH OTHER ONLY IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY (NON-CLASS, NON-COLLECTIVE, NON-REPRESENTATIVE, AND NON-AGGREGATE BASIS). THERE SHALL BE NO RIGHT OR AUTHORITY FOR ANY DISPUTES TO BE ARBITRATED ON A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, REPRESENTATIVE, OR AGGREGATE BASIS. Notwithstanding any other clause contained in these Terms and Conditions, this paragraph shall not be severable in any case in which the dispute is brought as a class, collective, representative or aggregate action.
This Class Action Waiver will survive the termination of the relationship between you and U.S. News for any and all claims or disputes you or U.S. News have relating in any way to the services provided by U.S. News or your relationship with U.S. News.
Arbitration
Please Read This Following Clause (the “Arbitration Agreement”) Carefully—It Significantly Affects Your Legal Rights, Including Your Right to File a Lawsuit in Court.
You agree that by using the U.S. News Services, each of you and U.S. News are waiving the right to trial by jury. If you do not agree with this waiver in its entirety, you are expressly forbidden from using the U.S. News Services.
You and U.S. News mutually agree that any and all claims, controversies or disputes arising out of or relating in any way to these Terms and Conditions or the applicability, breach, termination, validity, enforcement or interpretation thereof, your use of any of the U.S. News Services or any services provided by U.S. News, your relationship with U.S. News, or any action or inaction by U.S. News, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, shall be submitted to confidential binding individual arbitration in the federal judicial district in which you reside, except to the extent that you have in any way violated or threatened to violate any intellectual property right of U.S. News, in which case U.S. News may bring an action against you in any court of competent jurisdiction.
If you intend to seek arbitration, you must first give U.S. News written notice of your claim or dispute (the “Claim Notice”). The Claim Notice shall be sent to [email protected] and shall (i) include your name, address and email address, (ii) list the U.S. News Services, if any, on which you have created an account and which newsletters associated with any U.S. News Services, if any, you receive, and (iii) describe in reasonable detail the nature and basis of your claim or dispute and the specific relief you request. If U.S. News and you are unable to resolve your claim or dispute within sixty (60) days after U.S. News’s receipt of your Claim Notice, either you or U.S. News may commence binding arbitration by filing a written Demand for Arbitration (available at www.jamsadr.com) with JAMS and providing a copy to the other party as specified on the JAMS Demand for Arbitration and in the JAMS rules. All such arbitrations shall be conducted by a single arbitrator and administered by JAMS in accordance with the JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures, except as modified here. The JAMS rules governing the arbitration may be accessed at https://www.jamsadr.com/rules-streamlined-arbitration/. If for any reason, JAMS is unable to provide the arbitration, you may file your dispute with any national arbitration company under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and/or other AAA arbitration rules determined to be applicable by the AAA then in effect, except as modified here. The arbitrator, and not any federal, state or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of these Terms and Conditions, including, but not limited to, any claim that all or any part of these Terms and Conditions is void or voidable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, only a court, and not an arbitrator, has the authority to resolve disputes concerning the validity and/or enforceability of the Class Action Waiver. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and in writing and shall include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. The award shall be binding on the parties and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. Except as otherwise limited by these Terms and Conditions, the arbitrator may award any relief allowed by law or the JAMS rules (or the AAA rules if applicable), but declaratory or injunctive relief may be awarded only on an individual basis and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim.
The interpretation and enforcement of these Terms and Conditions shall be subject to the Federal Arbitration Act. Unless you and U.S. News specifically agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate any other claims with yours and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. An arbitration award applies only to the specific case in which it was awarded and cannot be used in any other case except to enforce the award itself.
Each of you and U.S. News understands that, absent this mandatory arbitration provision and jury trial waiver, they would have the right to sue in court and have a jury trial. They further understand that the right to discovery may be more limited in arbitration than in court.
For arbitration claims that you assert against U.S. News in accordance with this Arbitration Agreement (but not for any arbitration claim against you), U.S. News will pay all of your administrative, hearing and arbitrator’s fees and costs for the arbitration (but not the fees, expenses and costs of your lawyers, experts or witnesses, for which you are responsible) in excess of any filing fee you would have been required to pay in order to file the claim as a lawsuit in a state or federal court (whichever is greater) in the judicial district in which you reside.
This Arbitration Agreement will survive the termination of the relationship between you and U.S. News for any and all claims or disputes you or U.S. News have relating in any way to the services provided by U.S. News or your relationship with U.S. News.