According to US News & World Report , the newspaper used up to 17 indicators of academic quality, including graduation rates, freshman retention rates, graduation rate performance and loan debt levels... to evaluate nearly 1,500 schools.

In order to “prioritize social mobility,” or how well a college gets paid after graduation, this year more than 50% of a college’s score will be based on academic and career success over debt and earnings after graduation.

The top three universities remained unchanged from last year, with Princeton University holding the number one spot for the 14th consecutive year. Princeton was followed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which remained in second and third place respectively. Stanford University, which tied for third with MIT last year, dropped to fourth place.

Many subcategories remain the same or the same as in 2024. Williams College continues to top the liberal arts college category. While the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California, Berkeley tied for first place in the public school category in 2024, UCLA edged out UC Berkeley for the top spot on the 2025 list.

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Princeton University has been ranked among the best universities in the US for many years. Photo: Princeton University Fanpage.

In addition to the high ratings, this ranking list has received much criticism over the years about the formula used to rank schools as well as the fact that many educational institutions have to pay licensing fees to promote their rankings, according to The New York Times .

In a Times report, Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona said the rankings create an "unhealthy obsession with selectivity."

The rankings provide “important information for those making decisions about higher education,” said Eric Gertler, president and CEO of U.S. News & World Report, in a press release accompanying the 2025 list.

Here are the top 10 overall colleges and the top 10 liberal arts colleges in this year's rankings:

Top 10 universities in the US:

1. Princeton University
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Harvard University
4. Stanford University
5. Yale University
Tied for 6th place are 4 schools: California Institute of Technology; Duke University; Johns Hopkins University; Northwestern University
10. University of Pennsylvania

Top 5 Liberal Arts Colleges:

1. Williams College
2. Amherst College
3. Swarthmore College
4. US Naval Academy
Tied for 5th place are Bowdoin College; Pomona College.

According to experts, the rankings assess academic research and reputation, but individual factors such as location, campus culture, the strength of specific programs and cost are also important when choosing where to pursue higher education.

A series of universities with revenue of thousands of billions, which school has the highest? In the group of universities leading in revenue nationwide, there are 2 schools with revenue of over 2,000 billion VND.