7. COLLEGE RANKINGS
Popular publications such as U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal publish rankings of United States colleges and universities each year. However, there are many ways to rank an institution; there is no clear “champion” university.
For example, taking the most recent 2020 rankings from the U.S. News & World Report, here are the “top” colleges and universities, sorted by different criteria.
CRITERIA | #1 | #2 | #3 |
National University | Princeton Univ. | Harvard Univ. | Columbia Univ. |
Public Schools | Univ. of California, Los Angeles | Univ. of California, Berkeley | Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor |
Best Value Schools | Princeton Univ. | Harvard Univ. | Yale Univ. |
Most Innovative | Arizona State Univ. Tempe | Georgia State University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Social Mobility | Univ. of California, Riverside | Univ. of California, Santa Cruz | Univ. of California, Irvine |
Undergraduate Teaching | Princeton Univ. | Elon Univ. | Brown Univ. |
Colleges for Veterans | Stanford Univ. | Dartmouth College | Cornell Univ. |
Other popular ranking criteria include:
•Best Four-Year Graduation Rates
•Best Business Programs
•Best Commuting Campuses
•Best Economic Diversity
•Best Engineering Programs
•Best Ethnic Diversity on Campus
•Best First-Year Experiences
•Best Fraternities
•Best Freshman Retention Rate
•Best Housing on Campus
•Best International Student Support Programs
•Best Internship Programs
•Best Learning Communities
•Best Liberal Arts Colleges
•Best Private Universities
•Best Public Universities
•Best Outcomes for Graduates
•Best Regional School
•Best Scholarship Programs
•Best School by Size (small/medium/large)
•Best Senior Capstone Projects
•Best Service Learning Programs
•Best Sororities
•Best Student Engagement
•Best Study Abroad Programs
•Best Transfer Programs
•Best Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects
•Best Value Schools
•Best Writing Programs
When considering which institution you would like to attend, go beyond the simple “national university” standard. Of course, having a degree from Princeton, Harvard, or Columbia would do you well because of the universities’ fame and exclusivity. However, is that really the right school for you? Columbia University, for example, is right in the middle of Manhattan. Is that where you want to live for four years? Unless you qualify for a full scholarship, this school and the other national leaders cost a lot of money. Are you comfortable with graduating with loans? Perhaps you answer “yes” to both of these. In that case, you should definitely apply. However, if you answer “no,” it might be good for you to consider other ways to evaluate institutions. Perhaps social justice matters a lot to you. Some institutions are much more engaged in ethical practices and social justice than others are. Perhaps class size and the quality and quantity of professor-student interactions is a key deciding factor for you. If so, then a large university might not be the right fit. In any case, you should spend as much time as possible researching institutions and evaluating them on the criteria that matter to you.