Call it the elite eight. Call it the great eight. But, whatever you do, don’t downplay who’s No. 1.

That’s because, when the prestigious U.S. News & World Report 2019 Best Colleges Rankings came out Monday morning, Princeton University held down the top spot for the eighth consecutive year.

Among the Best National Universities — research institutions with a broad range of academic offerings — the New Jersey school led the way, beating out Ivy League rivals such as Harvard University and Columbia University.

Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Stevens Institute of Technology joined Princeton in the Top 100, finishing tied for 56^th and tied for 70^th, respectively. Rutgers jumped 13 spots over the 2018 rankings, released in September 2017, while Stevens finished with the same ranking as a year ago.

Other New Jersey schools ranked among national universities included:

• New Jersey Institute of Technology, tied for 106^th;
• Rutgers-Newark, tied for 115^th;
• Seton Hall University, tied for 119^th;
• Montclair State University, tied for 169^th; and
• Rowan University, tied for 171^st.

The national Top 10 included:

1. Princeton;
2. Harvard;
T3. Columbia;
T3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
T3. University of Chicago;
T3. Yale University;
7. Stanford University;
T8. Duke University;
T8. University of Pennsylvania;
T10. Johns Hopkins University;
T10. Northwestern University.

U.S. News also ranked National Liberal Arts Colleges, which were institutions of fewer than 4,500 students that award at least half their degrees in the arts and sciences.

The highest-ranking New Jersey school on that list was Drew University, finishing in a tie for No. 116. The only other Garden State school to be ranked on that list was Bloomfield College, which was listed in a tier of Nos. 173-229.

Several New Jersey colleges found homes among the Regional Universities North rankings:

• The College of New Jersey, 4^th;
• Monmouth University, tied for 28^th;
• Ramapo College of New Jersey, tied for 28^th;
• Rutgers-Camden, tied for 28^th;
• Rider University, tied for 35^th;
• Stockton University, tied for 35^th;
• Fairleigh Dickinson University, tied for 62^nd;
• Caldwell University, tied for 74^th;
• Saint Peter’s University, tied for 81^st;
• William Paterson University, tied for 93^rd;
• Georgian Court University, tied for 139^th;
• Kean University, tied for 139^th;
• Centenary University, ranked in the tier of 142^nd-187^th;
• The College of St. Elizabeth, ranked in the tier of 142^nd-187^th;
• Felician University, ranked in the tier of 142^nd-187^th;
• New Jersey City University, ranked in the tier of 142^nd-187^th.

Two colleges were unranked, but listed: Berkeley College, unranked among Business Schools; and Thomas Edison State University, unranked among Regional Universities North.

Colleges were ranked based on 16 measures of academic quality and divided into categories for comparison. For the complete rankings, click here2.

Read the full article here.