The list of the best colleges in the US News Ranking 2025 is here

U.S. News & World Report released its 2025 Best Colleges list on Tuesday morning, ranking the nation's best colleges and universities in a variety of categories for the 40th consecutive year.

To “prioritize social mobility,” the release says, a college’s evaluation this year is based more than 50 percent on academic and career success relative to debt and income after graduation.

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

Many of the subcategories were similar or identical to the top spots in 2024. Williams College retained its top spot in the liberal arts college category. While the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California Berkeley shared the top spot among public schools in the 2024 rankings, UCLA displaced UC Berkeley from the No. 1 spot in the 2025 list.

Spelman College ranked first among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) this year, ahead of Howard University.

According to the New York Times, the rankings have been heavily criticized over the years due to the formula they use to rank different colleges and the fact that many institutions pay licensing fees to promote their respective rankings.

In the same Times report, Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona said the rankings led to “an unhealthy obsession with selectivity.”

Eric Gertler, chairman and CEO of U.S. News & World Report, said in a press release about the 2025 list that the rankings “provide critical information for those seeking to make the best decision about their college education.”

Here is a list of the top 20 universities and top 20 liberal arts colleges from this year's rankings:

The top 20 national universities:

1 – Princeton University (NJ)

2 -Massachusetts Institute of Technology

3 – Harvard University (MA)

4 – Stanford University (CA)

5 – Yale University (CT)

6 – California Institute of Technology – Draw

Duke University (NC) – Draw

Johns Hopkins University (MD) – Draw

Northwestern University (IL) – Draw

10 – University of Pennsylvania

11 – Cornell University (NY) – Draw

University of Chicago (IL) – Tie

13 – Brown University (RI) – Draw

Columbia University (NY) – Draw

15 – Dartmouth College (NH) – Draw

University of California, Los Angeles – Tie

17 – University of California, Berkeley

18 – Rice University (TX) – Tie

University of Notre Dame (IN) – Tie

Vanderbilt University (TN) – Draw

The 20 best national liberal arts colleges:

1 – Williams College (MA)

2 – Amherst College (MA)

3 – Swarthmore College (PA)

4 – United States Naval Academy (MD)

5 – Bowdoin College (ME) – Tie

Pomona College (CA) – Tie

7 – Wellesley College (MA)

8 – Carleton College (MN) – Tie

Claremont McKenna College (CA) – Draw

United States Air Force Academy (CO) – Tie

United States Military Academy at West Point (NY) – Tie

12 – Harvey Mudd College (CA) – Tie

Vassar College (NY) – Draw

14 – Barnard College (NY) – Draw

Davidson College (NC) – Tie

Hamilton College (NY) – Draw

Smith College (MA) – Tie

Wesleyan University (CT) – Draw

19 – Grinnell College (IA) – Tie

Middlebury College (VT) – Draw

Washington and Lee University (VA) – Draw