Education

Visualized: The Best Universities in America

Published

1 year ago

October 12, 2022

Avery Koop

Graphics/Design:

Bhabna Banerjee

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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:

Rank	University	Acceptance Rate	School Type	Tuition and Fees (Private or Public Out-of-State)	In-State Tuition (Public Institutions Only)	State
#1	Princeton University	4%	Private, Ivy League	$57,410	N/A	New Jersey
#2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	4%	Private	$57,986	N/A	Massachusetts
#3	Yale University	5%	Private, Ivy League	$62,250	N/A	Connecticut
#3	Harvard University	4%	Private, Ivy League	$57,261	N/A	Massachusetts
#3	Stanford University	4%	Private	$56,169	N/A	California
#6	University of Chicago	6%	Private	$62,940	N/A	Illinois
#7	University of Pennsylvania	6%	Private, Ivy League	$63,452	N/A	Pennsylvania
#7	Johns Hopkins University	8%	Private	$60,480	N/A	Maryland
#9	California Institute of Technology	4%	Private	$60,864	N/A	California
#10	Northwestern University	7%	Private	$63,468	N/A	Illinois
#10	Duke University	6%	Private	$63,054	N/A	North Carolina
#12	Dartmouth College	6%	Private, Ivy League	$62,430	N/A	New Hampshire
#13	Brown University	6%	Private, Ivy League	$65,146	N/A	Rhode Island
#13	Vanderbilt University	7%	Private	$60,348	N/A	Tennessee
#15	Washington University in St. Louis	13%	Private	$60,590	N/A	Missouri
#15	Rice University	9%	Private	$54,960	N/A	Texas
#17	Cornell University	9%	Private, Ivy League, Land-Grant	$63,200	N/A	New York
#18	Columbia University	6%	Private, Ivy League	$65,524	N/A	New York
#18	University of Notre Dame	15%	Private	$60,301	N/A	Indiana
#20	University of California, Los Angeles	11%	Public	$44,830	$13,804	California
#20	University of California, Berkeley	15%	Public	$43,980	$14,226	California
#22	Georgetown University	12%	Private	$62,052	N/A	District of Columbia
#22	Carnegie Mellon University	14%	Private	$61,344	N/A	Pennsylvania
#22	Emory University	13%	Private	$57,948	N/A	Georgia
#25	University of Southern California	13%	Private	$64,726	N/A	California
#25	New York University	13%	Private	$58,168	N/A	New York
#25	University of Michigan--Ann Arbor	20%	Public	$57,273	$17,786	Michigan
#25	University of Virginia	21%	Public	$56,837	$21,381	Virginia
#29	Wake Forest University	25%	Private	$62,128	N/A	North Carolina
#29	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	19%	Public	$37,558	$8,998	North Carolina
#29	University of Florida	30%	Public, Land-Grant	$28,658	$6,380	Florida
#32	Tufts University	11%	Private	$65,222	N/A	Massachussets
#32	University of California, Santa Barbara	29%	Public	$44,204	$14,450	California
#34	University of California, San Diego	34%	Public	$46,374	$15,348	California
#34	University of California, Irvine	29%	Public	$43,739	$13,985	California
#36	Boston College	19%	Private	$64,176	N/A	Massachussetts
#36	University of Rochester	41%	Private	$61,678	N/A	New York
#38	University of California, Davis	49%	Public	$44,494	$14,740	California
#38	University of Texas at Austin	29%	Public	$40,996	$11,752	Texas
#38	University of Wisconsin--Madison	60%	Public, Land-Grant	$39,427	$10,796	Wisconsin
#41	Boston University	19%	Public	$62,360	$18,229	Massachussetts
#41	William & Mary	37%	Public	$46,625	$23,970	Virginia
#41	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	6%	Public, Land-Grant	$35,110	$17,138	Illinois
#44	Tulane University	10%	Private	$62,844	N/A	Louisiana
#44	Brandeis University	39%	Private	$62,722	N/A	Massachussets
#44	Case Western Reserve University	30%	Private	$62,234	N/A	Ohio
#44	Northeastern University	18%	Private	$60,192	N/A	Massachusse
#44	Georgia Institute of Technology	18%	Private	$32,876	$11,764	Georgia
#49	The Ohio State University	57%	Private, Land-Grant	$35,019	$11,936	Ohio
#49	University of Georgia	40%	Private, Land-Grant	$30,220	$11,180	Georgia

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.

Published

4 days ago

November 25, 2023

Pallavi Rao

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.

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