Unlike the prior edition, the annual U.S. News Best Colleges rankings underwent only slight methodological changes this year, so the top-ranked colleges stayed mostly steady from last year.
Despite some opposition to the rankings, the vast majority of schools U.S. News surveyed continued to report data: 78.1% of the nearly 1,500 ranked institutions returned their statistical information in the spring and summer of 2024, compared to about 79.9% last year. This includes 99 of the top 100 ranked National Universities and 96 of the top 100 National Liberal Arts Colleges.
Here’s a look at the top-ranked schools in their respective categories in the 2025 Best Colleges rankings.
National Universities:
Princeton University in New Jersey (No. 1)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (No. 2)
Harvard University in Massachusetts (No. 3)
Stanford University in California (No. 4)
Yale University in Connecticut (No. 5)