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Visualized: The Best Universities in America

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Visualized: The Best Universities in America

The United States is home to many world-class universities like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, which boast innovative research programs, famous alumni, prestigious awards, and students and faculty from all over the world.

But which schools are actually the best ones in America?

This ranking uses data from U.S. News & World Report to rank America’s 50 best universities from the Ivy League to public institutions. Additionally, this visual shows the average tuition and acceptance rate of each school.

The Methodology

Here’s a look at how different categories are scored in the ranking. It is worth noting that U.S. News relies on each university’s independent reporting of data and information and does not standardize or corroborate the reported information themselves.

How categories are weighted:

  • Graduation & Retention Rates = 22%
  • Undergraduate Academic Reputation = 20%
  • Faculty Resources = 20%
  • Financial Resources per Student = 10%
  • Graduation Rate Performance = 8%
  • Student Selectivity for Fall Entering Class = 7%
  • Social Mobility = 5%
  • Graduate Indebtedness = 5%
  • Average Alumni Giving Rate = 3%

The Top Schools

Ivy League universities are often assumed to be the top schools in America, but in reality, only four of the eight make the top 10.

Here’s a closer look:

RankUniversityAcceptance RateSchool TypeTuition and Fees (Private or Public Out-of-State)In-State Tuition (Public Institutions Only)State
#1Princeton University4%Private, Ivy League$57,410N/ANew Jersey
#2Massachusetts Institute of Technology4%Private$57,986N/AMassachusetts
#3Yale University 5%Private, Ivy League$62,250N/AConnecticut
#3Harvard University 4%Private, Ivy League$57,261N/AMassachusetts
#3Stanford University4%Private$56,169N/ACalifornia
#6University of Chicago6%Private$62,940N/AIllinois
#7University of Pennsylvania 6%Private, Ivy League$63,452N/APennsylvania
#7Johns Hopkins University8%Private$60,480N/AMaryland
#9California Institute of Technology4%Private$60,864N/ACalifornia
#10Northwestern University7%Private$63,468N/AIllinois
#10Duke University6%Private$63,054N/ANorth Carolina
#12Dartmouth College 6%Private, Ivy League$62,430N/ANew Hampshire
#13Brown University 6%Private, Ivy League$65,146N/ARhode Island
#13Vanderbilt University7%Private$60,348N/ATennessee
#15Washington University in St. Louis13%Private$60,590N/AMissouri
#15Rice University9%Private$54,960N/ATexas
#17Cornell University 9%Private, Ivy League, Land-Grant $63,200N/ANew York
#18Columbia University 6%Private, Ivy League$65,524N/ANew York
#18University of Notre Dame15%Private$60,301N/AIndiana
#20University of California, Los Angeles11%Public$44,830$13,804California
#20University of California, Berkeley15%Public$43,980$14,226California
#22Georgetown University12%Private$62,052N/ADistrict of Columbia
#22Carnegie Mellon University14%Private$61,344N/APennsylvania
#22Emory University13%Private$57,948N/AGeorgia
#25University of Southern California13%Private$64,726N/ACalifornia
#25New York University13%Private$58,168N/ANew York
#25University of Michigan--Ann Arbor20%Public$57,273$17,786Michigan
#25University of Virginia21%Public$56,837$21,381Virginia
#29Wake Forest University25%Private$62,128N/ANorth Carolina
#29University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19%Public$37,558$8,998North Carolina
#29University of Florida30%Public, Land-Grant $28,658$6,380Florida
#32Tufts University11%Private$65,222N/AMassachussets
#32University of California, Santa Barbara29%Public$44,204$14,450California
#34University of California, San Diego34%Public$46,374$15,348California
#34University of California, Irvine29%Public$43,739$13,985California
#36Boston College19%Private$64,176N/AMassachussetts
#36University of Rochester41%Private$61,678N/ANew York
#38University of California, Davis49%Public$44,494$14,740California
#38University of Texas at Austin29%Public$40,996$11,752Texas
#38University of Wisconsin--Madison60%Public, Land-Grant $39,427$10,796Wisconsin
#41Boston University19%Public$62,360$18,229Massachussetts
#41William & Mary37%Public$46,625$23,970Virginia
#41University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign6%Public, Land-Grant $35,110$17,138Illinois
#44Tulane University10%Private$62,844N/ALouisiana
#44Brandeis University39%Private$62,722N/AMassachussets
#44Case Western Reserve University30%Private$62,234N/AOhio
#44Northeastern University18%Private$60,192N/AMassachusse
#44Georgia Institute of Technology18%Private$32,876$11,764Georgia
#49The Ohio State University57%Private, Land-Grant $35,019$11,936Ohio
#49University of Georgia40%Private, Land-Grant $30,220$11,180Georgia

One of the Ivies, Columbia University, actually dropped 16 spots from last year’s ranking due to a scandal involving misreported statistics by the university, which was exposed by one of its own professors. There have been critiques of the U.S. News & World Report ranking since, as it doesn’t provide a uniform set of standards for the universities, but lets them determine how they score their categories themselves.

Among the top 10 schools admittance is very competitive, and none of the acceptance rates surpass the 7% mark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, and Caltech are among the most difficult universities to get into, with only 4% of applicants receiving that exciting acceptance letter. On the flip side, the universities of Illinois and Wisconsin, for example, accept 60% of all applicants.

Types of Universities

A few more things to know—there are eight private schools in the U.S. that have earned the distinction of “Ivy League,” due to their history and prestige. A number of schools are also classified as land-grant universities—built on land which was essentially given to them by the U.S. government. This was in an effort to provide higher education to lacking communities across the country, and there is at least one in every state.

These are the U.S.’ eight Ivy League Institutions:

  • Princeton University
  • Yale University
  • Columbia University
  • Brown University
  • Harvard University
  • Cornell University
  • Dartmouth University
  • University of Pennsylvania

Beyond these prestigious academies, there are many high caliber institutions like The Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin—both of which are land-grant universities.

Among the top 50, there are another four land-grant universities:

  • University of Florida
  • University of Georgia
  • University of Illinois
  • Cornell University

There is ripe controversy, however, surrounding land-grant universities, as, in many cases, the U.S. government funded these institutions through expropriated indigenous land.

The Cost of an American Education

U.S. college tuition is famous for being unaffordable. Combining all the federal and private loans in the country, the total student debt comes out to $1.75 trillion and the average borrower owes $28,950.

Here’s a look at how tuition breaks down on average:

best universities

The most expensive school in America is Columbia University, with the cost of admission coming out to a whopping $65,524, with some estimates showing even higher rates for the 2022/2023 academic year. The least expensive among the top 50 is the University of Florida at $6,380 for in-state tuition—more than 10x cheaper than Columbia.

But many Americans may soon see their college loans forgiven. The Biden administration’s initiative to cancel student debt will roll out any day now and will be available on federal loans for select qualifying individuals. It has the potential to provide 40 million people with as much as $20,000 in debt forgiveness.

And given that American universities make up eight of the 10 best universities in the world, perhaps the price tag will be worth it.

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Misc

Ranked: America’s Best Universities

Evaluated on 19 different metrics, here’s the list of America’s best universities, led by 14 private schools.

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Ranked: America’s Best Universities

The latest ranking of America’s best universities is here, perfectly timed for the approaching admissions season.

“Best” is of course subjective, and U.S. News and World Report has compiled 19 metrics on which they evaluated more than 400 national universities. Some of them include:

  • Graduation rates & performance: A four-year rolling average of the proportion of each entering class earning a bachelor’s degree in six years or less. Performance is measured against predictions made by the publishers, and when beaten, the university gains a higher scoring.
  • Peer assessment: A two-year weighted average of ratings from top academics—presidents, provosts and deans of admissions—on academic quality of peer institutions with which they are familiar.
  • Financial resources: The average per student spend on instruction, research, student services and related educational expenditures in the 2021 fiscal year.
  • Debt: A school’s average accumulated federal loan debt among borrowers only.
  • Pell graduation rates & performance: the same calculation as stated above, but focused only on Pell Grant students, adjusted to give more credit to schools with larger Pell student proportions.

The website’s methodology section details how they sourced their data, the weights assigned to each metric, and their changes over the years.

From the hundreds assessed come the nearly 50 best universities that offer a variety of undergraduate majors, post-graduate programs, emphasize research, or award professional practice doctorates.

Which are the Best Universities in America?

At the top of the list, Princeton University is the best university in the country, known for its physics, economics, and international relations departments. Notably, it’s a rare Ivy league university that does not have a law, medical, or business school.

Here’s the full ranking of America’s best universities, along with annual tuition requirements.

RankSchool NameStateTuition
1Princeton UniversityNew Jersey$59,710
2Massachusetts
Institute of
Technology
Massachusetts$60,156
3Harvard UniversityMassachusetts$59,076
3Stanford UniversityCalifornia$62,484
5Yale UniversityConnecticut$64,700
6University of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania$66,104
7California Institute
of Technology
California$63,255
7Duke UniversityNorth Carolina$66,172
9Brown UniversityRhode Island$68,230
9Johns Hopkins
University
Maryland$63,340
9Northwestern UniversityIllinois$65,997
12Columbia UniversityNew York$65,524
12Cornell UniversityNew York$66,014
12University of ChicagoIllinois$65,619
15University of
California, Berkeley
California$48,465 (out-state)
$15,891 (in-state)
15University of
California, LA
California$46,326 (out-state)
$13,752 (in-state)
17Rice UniversityTexas$58,128
18Dartmouth CollegeNew Hampshire$65,511
18Vanderbilt UniversityTennessee$63,946
20University of Notre DameIndiana$62,693
21University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor
Michigan$57,273 (out-state)
$17,786 (in-state)
22Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC$65,082
22University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill
North Carolina$39,338 (out-state)
$8,998 (in-state)
24Carnegie Mellon UniversityPennsylvania$63,829
24Emory UniversityGeorgia$60,774
24University of VirginiaVirginia$58,950 (out-state)
$22,323 (in-state)
24Washington
University, St. Louis
Missouri$62,982
28University of
California, Davis
California$46,043 (out-state)
$15,266 (in-state)
28University of
California, San Diego
California$48,630 (out-state)
$16,056 (in-state)
28University of FloridaFlorida$28,658 (out-state)
$6,381 (in-state)
28University of
Southern California
California$68,237
32University of
Texas, Austin
Texas$41,070 (out-state)
$11,698 (in-state)
33Georgia Institute
of Technology
Georgia$32,876 (out-state)
$11,764 (in-state)
33University of
California, Irvine
California$47,759 (out-state)
$15,185 (in-state)
35New York UniversityNew York$60,438
35University of
California, Santa
Barbara
California$45,658 (out-state)
$14,881 (in-state)
35University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign
Illinois$36,068 (out-state)
$17,572 (in-state)
35University of
Wisconsin, Madison
Wisconsin$40,603 (out-state)
$11,205 (in-state)
39Boston CollegeMassachusetts$67,680
40Rutgers University,
New Brunswick
New Jersey$36,001 (out-state)
$17,239 (in-state)
40Tufts UniversityMassachusetts$67,844
40University of WashingtonWashington$41,997 (out-state)
$12,643 (in-state)
43Boston UniversityMassachusetts$65,168
43The Ohio State UniversityOhio$36,722 (out-state)
$12,485 (in-state)
43Purdue University,
Main Campus
Indiana$28,794 (out-state)
$9,992 (in-state)
46University of
Maryland, College
Park
Maryland$40,306 (out-state)
$11,505 (in-state)
47Lehigh UniversityPennsylvania$62,180
47Texas A&M UniversityTexas$40,607 (out-state)
$12,413 (in-state)
47University of GeorgiaGeorgia$30,220 (out-state)
$11,180 (in-state)
47University of RochesterNew York$64,384
47Virginia TechVirginia$36,090 (out-state)
$15,478 (in-state)
47Wake Forest UniversityNorth Carolina$64,758
53Case Western
Reserve University
Ohio$62,234
53Florida State UniversityFlorida$21,683 (out-state)
$6,517 (in-state)
53Northeastern UniversityMassachusetts$63,141
53University of
Minnesota, Twin
Cities
Minnesota$36,402 (out-state)
$16,488 (in-state)
53William & MaryVirginia$48,841 (out-state)
$25,041 (in-state)

MIT places second, and Harvard and Stanford tie for third. Yale rounds out the top five.

Private universities, including seven Ivy League colleges, dominate the top of the rankings. Meanwhile, the highest-ranked public schools are tied at 15th, both state schools in California.

For affordability, since the higher ranks are populated by private universities, there tends to be a broad correlation of better universities being more expensive. That said, the most expensive school in the top 50 ranks is actually the University of Southern California, tied at 28th, for $68,237/year.

As it happens, also tied at 28th, the University of Florida is the most affordable public school for in-state students ($6,381/year) and Florida State University tied at 53rd, is the most affordable for out-of-staters at $21,683/year.

However these costs are tuition-only, and don’t account for other necessary expenses: accommodation, food, and textbooks.

Best University versus Best “Fit”

Finding the best university for prospective students is more than just perusing a long ranking list.

Aside from the numerous schools present within each university—which can often be the best for specific majors—factors like location, proximity to family, campus culture, the non-academic pursuits (sports, extracurriculars, internships) are also taken into consideration.

In fact, research has found that just attaining a university degree improves future earnings potential and employability.

Furthermore, individual engagement at college (irrespective of the rank of the school in question) plays a far bigger role in learning and general well-being than simply attending a highly-ranked school.

However, for low income and minority students, attending a top-ranked school does improve future earnings considerably. For women, it also often results in delaying marriage and kids, which results in more work-hours and as a result, more pay.

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