U.S. News & World Report released their 2025 Best Colleges list Tuesday morning, ranking the top colleges and universities throughout the country in various categories for the 40th year running.
To “prioritize social mobility,” the publication says more than 50% of a college’s ranking this year is based on academic and professional success relative to debt and earnings after graduation.
The top three schools remained the same from the previous list, with Princeton University claiming the top spot for the 14th consecutive year. Following Princeton was Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), retaining their second and third rankings, respectively. Stanford University, tied for third last year with MIT, fell to the fourth spot.
Many of the subcategories looked similar or identical to the top spots in 2024. Williams College retained its top spot in the liberal arts college category. While both the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California Berkeley shared the No. 1 spot for public schools in the 2024 rankings, UCLA topped UC Berkeley for the No. 1 spot in the 2025 list.
Spelman College claimed the top spot this year among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) over Howard University.
The rankings have received much criticism over the years based on the formula they use to rank the various colleges and the fact that many institutions paying licensing fees to promote their respective rank, according to The New York Times.
In the same Times report, Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona said the rankings cause “an unhealthy obsession with selectivity.″
Eric Gertler, the executive chairman and CEO of U.S. News & World Report, said that the rankings offer “crucial information to those seeking to make the best decision about their college education,” in a press release accompanying the 2025 list.
Here’s a list of the top 20 universities and top 20 liberal arts colleges from this year’s rankings:
The Top 20 National Universities:
1 – Princeton University (NJ)
2 -Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3 – Harvard University (MA)
4 – Stanford University (CA)
5 – Yale University (CT)
6 – California Institute of Technology – Tie
Duke University (NC) – Tie
Johns Hopkins University (MD) – Tie
Northwestern University (IL) – Tie
10 – University of Pennsylvania
11- Cornell University (NY) – Tie
University of Chicago (IL) – Tie
13 – Brown University (RI) – Tie
Columbia University (NY) – Tie
15 – Dartmouth College (NH) – Tie
University of California, Los Angeles – Tie
17 – University of California, Berkeley
18 – Rice University (TX) – Tie
University of Notre Dame (IN) – Tie
Vanderbilt University (TN) – Tie
The Top 20 National Liberal Arts Colleges:
1 – Williams College (MA)
2 – Amherst College (MA)
3 – Swarthmore College (PA)
4 – United States Naval Academy (MD)
5 – Bowdoin College (ME) – Tie
Pomona College (CA) – Tie
7 – Wellesley College (MA)
8 – Carleton College (MN) – Tie
Claremont McKenna College (CA) – Tie
United States Air Force Academy (CO) – Tie
United States Military Academy at West Point (NY) – Tie
12 – Harvey Mudd College (CA) – Tie
Vassar College (NY) – Tie
14 – Barnard College (NY) – Tie
Davidson College (NC) – Tie
Hamilton College (NY) – Tie
Smith College (MA) – Tie
Wesleyan University (CT) – Tie
19 – Grinnell College (IA) – Tie
Middlebury College (VT) – Tie
Washington and Lee University (VA) – Tie