This year marks the 30th edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, which includes top National Universities. A high ranking indicates that the college is an elite academic institution that attracts a diverse set of high-achieving students and faculty, the college is affordable, and the students are very happy with their college experience.
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton provides undergraduate and graduate instruction in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. It offers professional degrees through the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Architecture and the Bendheim Center for Finance.
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Harvard University is a private institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university. The nominal cost of attendance is high, but the University’s large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages. It operates several arts, cultural, and scientific museums, alongside the Harvard Library, which is the world’s largest academic and private library system, comprising 79 individual libraries with over 18 million volumes.
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Yale University is a private institution that was founded in 1701. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,430, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 342 acres. Yale students are divided into 12 residential colleges that foster a supportive environment for living, learning and socializing.
Columbia University
New York, NY
Columbia University has three undergraduate schools: Columbia College, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and the School of General Studies. For more than 250 years, Columbia has been a leader in higher education in the nation and around the world.
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Stanford University (officially Leland Stanford Junior University) is a private research university in Stanford, California, and one of the world’s most prestigious institutions, with the highest undergraduate selectivity and the top position in numerous surveys and measures in the United States.
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
University of Chicago is a private institution that was founded in 1890. The University of Chicago, situated in Chicago’s Hyde Park community, offers a rich campus life in a big-city setting.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Though the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may be best known for its math, science and engineering education, this private research university also offers architecture, humanities, management and social science programs.
Duke University
Durham, NC
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Duke’s research expenditures in the 2012 fiscal year were $1.01 billion, the seventh largest in the nation. The University was ranked among the top 25 by most national and global league tables, while coming 31st and 26th in ARWU and Washington Monthly respectively.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Founded by Benjamin Franklin, the University of Pennsylvania is a private institution in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia. Penn has a long and proud tradition of intellectual rigor and pursuit of innovative knowledge, begun by Benjamin Franklin in 1740. That tradition lives today through the creativity, entrepreneurship, and engagement of our faculty, students, and staff.
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA
The California Institute of Technology (or Caltech) is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphasis on science and engineering.