Who’s No. 1 on U.S. News’ Best Colleges list? Princeton University, again
September 10, 2018Call 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 56th and tied for 70th, 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 106th;
- Rutgers-Newark, tied for 115th;
- Seton Hall University, tied for 119th;
- Montclair State University, tied for 169th; and
- Rowan University, tied for 171st.
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, 4th;
- Monmouth University, tied for 28th;
- Ramapo College of New Jersey, tied for 28th;
- Rutgers-Camden, tied for 28th;
- Rider University, tied for 35th;
- Stockton University, tied for 35th;
- Fairleigh Dickinson University, tied for 62nd;
- Caldwell University, tied for 74th;
- Saint Peter’s University, tied for 81st;
- William Paterson University, tied for 93rd;
- Georgian Court University, tied for 139th;
- Kean University, tied for 139th;
- Centenary University, ranked in the tier of 142nd-187th;
- The College of St. Elizabeth, ranked in the tier of 142nd-187th;
- Felician University, ranked in the tier of 142nd-187th;
- New Jersey City University, ranked in the tier of 142nd-187th.
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.