U.S. News & World Report unveiled the 2019 Best Colleges, with data on more than 1,800 schools across the country. While the use of college rankings is debatable, it can be a useful starting point. Also, this year’s college rankings, U.S. News & World Report has changed a number of elements in how it calculates a school’s ranking. Most of the changes reflect an increasing focus on “social mobility” metrics (though there is a debate over whether these adjustments worked). Two changes impact the world of college admissions tests: 1) the weight of a school’s SAT/ACT scores dropped from 8.125% to 7.75% in calculating the rankings and 2) rankings no longer take into account acceptance rates.
2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges
National Universities – Top 5
1. Princeton University (NJ)
2. Harvard University (MA)
3. Columbia University (NY) (tie)
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (tie)
3. University of Chicago (tie)
3. Yale University (CT) (tie)
National Liberal Arts Colleges – Top 5
1. Williams College (MA)
2. Amherst College (MA)
3. Swarthmore College (PA) (tie)
3. Wellesley College (MA) (tie)
5. Bowdoin College (ME) (tie)
5. Carleton College (MN) (tie)
5. Middlebury College (VT) (tie)
5. Pomona College (CA) (tie)
Top Public Schools
National Universities – Top 5
1. University of California—Los Angeles
2. University of California—Berkeley
3. University of Virginia
4. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
5. University of California—Santa Barbara (tie)
5. University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill (tie)
National Liberal Arts Colleges – Top 5
1. United States Military Academy (NY)
2. United States Naval Academy (MD)
3. United States Air Force Academy (CO)
4. Virginia Military Institute
5. New College of Florida
Best Value Schools
National Universities – Top 5
1. Princeton University (NJ)
2. Harvard University (MA)
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4. Yale University (CT)
5. Stanford University (CA)
National Liberal Arts Colleges – Top 5
1. Williams College (MA)
2. Pomona College (CA)
3. Amherst College (MA)
4. Swarthmore College (PA)
5. Principia College (IL)