U.S. News College Rankings 2012: The Top National Universities

Princeton University tied Harvard University as the top-ranked National University in U.S. News & World Report's 2012 rankings of Best Colleges. Last year, Harvard stood alone as the best ranked National University, a category that encompasses large, research-oriented schools.

See the top 10 schools of 2012... article continues below

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• Harvard University (Tied for #1)

• Princeton University (Tied for #1)

• Yale University

• Columbia University

• California Institute of Technology (Tied for #5)

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Tied for #5)

• Stanford University (Tied for #5)

• Duke University

• University of Chicago (Tied for #5)

• University of Pennsylvania (Tied for #5)

No changes took place at the very top of the rankings of National Liberal Arts Colleges—schools that emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts fields—as Williams College once again edged Amherst College for the highest rank.

[View the 2012 rankings of National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges.]

Though college sticker prices continue to skyrocket, and it will now cost some students more than $200,000 to attain a degree at the aforementioned schools and others ranked by U.S. News, data indicate that the value of a college degree hasn't waned. A recent report by the Georgetown University Center for Education and Workforce indicates that those with bachelor's degrees earn 75 percent more over their lifetimes than those who only have high school diplomas.

While the national unemployment rate topped out at 9.8 percent in 2010, it was 5.4 percent among those with bachelor's degrees in the same year. Plus, a college or university doesn't need to cost six figures to provide a solid education; U.S. News highlights some of these schools in lists such as the best up-and-coming schools, the best schools for B students, and schools that provide the best value, to name a few.

There was little change among the top-20 ranked National Universities, though the University of Chicago jumped four spots, from a tie for ninth last year to a tie for fifth this year. Among the biggest movers in the top 50 are the University of Miami, which jumped nine spots from a tie for 47th to a tie for 38th, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which dropped from a tie for 41st to a tie for 50th this year.

[See photos of the top 10 National Universities.]

Some California schools are weathering the state's ongoing financial storm with their academic reputations intact, as the University of California—Berkeley and the University of California—Los Angeles were once again ranked as the top two public National Universities. Only three public schools—Berkeley, UCLA, and the University of Virginia—are ranked among the top 25 National Universities.

Like National Universities, there was little flux in the rankings of the top National Liberal Arts Colleges. Bryn Mawr College made one of the biggest leaps among the top 50 schools, catapulting five spots to from a tie for 30th to a tie for 25th. Conversely, Smith College fell five spots from a tie for 14th to a tie for 19th.

[Get tips on how to narrow your college choices.]

The rankings of Regional Universities, which offer an array of undergraduate and graduate degrees but few doctoral programs, are split amongst four quadrants of the country. Villanova University, Rollins College, Creighton University, and Trinity University all retained the top ranks in the North, South, Midwest, and West, respectively.

However, there was change among the top Regional Colleges—schools that emphasize undergraduate education, but award fewer than 50 percent of degrees in the liberal arts. This year, John Brown University garnered the top spot in the South; Carroll College earned top billing in the West after last year's top school in that region, the United States Air Force Academy, was reclassified as a National Liberal Arts College. The United States Coast Guard Academy and Taylor University retained their top spots in the North and Midwest, respectively.

After 27 years of ranking Best Colleges, U.S. News continues to make additions beyond the data, aimed at providing students and parents the tools to find a school that best meets their needs. Given the explosion of social media in the American higher educational landscape, U.S. News now provides links to many institutions' Facebook and Twitter pages. Also, a new Facebook tool on college directory pages on usnews.com allows readers to see which of their friends attended, or are attending, a particular school.

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

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Comments

[panamajohnny]

12:43 AM on 09/18/2011

90 percent of grads are semiliterate and unable to apply creative solutions to problems, so why did they pay so much?

[incorrigible]

10:11 PM on 09/27/2011

the 1% saw an opportunity and sweet talked their way into their wallets. just like the financial crisis.

plus a degree, whether it leads to meaningful employment or not, is a must. not to have one would be passe. there's no choice really. and for those who say college is unnecessary and to go your own way, few can make the big bucks without a college education, quality or not.

[InfinteShibumi]

12:57 PM on 09/16/2011

What's with all of these "ties?"

[soapboxguy]

08:14 PM on 09/14/2011

USC ahead of UCLA in this one ranking? So what!

Times High Education World Rankings (Global Ranking): UCLA #32, USC #112

Forbes Best Colleges (Mixes Large and Small Universiti­es in one ranking): UCLA #77, USC #112

Academic Ranking of World Universiti­es (Global Ranking): UCLA #13, USC #46

US News and World Report Best Universiti­es in the WORLD (Global Ranking): UCLA #32, USC #112

Institute of Higher Education Ranking (Global Ranking): UCLA #13, USC #40

Global Universiti­es Ranking: UCLA #13, USC #29

Washington Monthly (National Ranking): UCLA #3, USC #39

Princeton Review Dream School Ranking: UCLA #7 (only public in top 10), USC #9

Center for Measuring University Performanc­e (National Ranking): UCLA #2, USC #13

[soapboxguy]

12:46 PM on 09/15/2011

Forgot to add:

World's Most Prestigious Universities: UCLA #12. USC -- Cannot fine in the top 26 Listed.

[Sanndy Myer]

01:03 AM on 09/18/2011

Hopefully, you now feel better about getting rejected by USC and therefore attending UCLA instead...

[soapboxguy]

11:50 AM on 09/19/2011

Never applied. USC wasn't even on my list as a safety school. Up until the mid-90s, or so, when USC began investing in its academics, the joke about USC was that they strived only for "an academic program of which their football team could be proud."

[ricchh]

01:33 PM on 09/14/2011

Princeton was below Yale, Columbia and Penn on the world rankings last week.

[CAPTK]

07:21 PM on 10/19/2011

Ratings systems differ based on their emphasis; The World ratings look more at publications from graduate schools, and Princeton lacks a Med, Law, or Business school, hurting it in those ratings.

Your second post here bashing Princeton, bitter?

[Mondayboy]

12:16 PM on 09/14/2011

What happened to Devry and ITT Tech?

[InfinteShibumi]

12:57 PM on 09/16/2011

With Strayer?

[armstrong st]

11:51 AM on 09/14/2011

Harvard is the best as usual.

Steve from http://www.essaytask.com

[rossjrmtholly]

06:30 PM on 09/14/2011

I wonder if age has anything to do with it.

[ricchh]

11:08 AM on 09/14/2011

Princeton should be listed with the liberal arts colleges and not national research universities. It is no way a "university" on the caliber, scope, or size of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Penn. It is more comparable to Williams and Amherst.

[CAPTK]

07:21 PM on 10/19/2011

It has some of the top grad schools in the nation in math, econ, public policy, etc. Definitely a Research University and not a Lib Arts college.

[Noel Fischre]

09:06 AM on 09/14/2011

Where's the University of Michigan? Surprised to see that they didn't make the cut...

[Elohman]

05:25 AM on 09/14/2011

While these rankings are largely superficial, there is some truth to the system. As an undergraduate student at UChicago, I have had the opportunity to work with and study under brilliant professors dedicated to not only their own research, but also to the future of their respective fields and the teaching of undergraduates.
Unlike previously commented, I don't experience much interaction with TA's because I have had 1 class in three years taught by one. These aren't just schools for rich kids, and my parents certainly didn't make a donation to get me in. I manage to pay my tuition through a combination of a job and financial aid. Working incredibly hard for several years did, however, probably help me get in, and I think at most of these schools, this is the rule rather than the exception. The price can be high, but the incredible opportunities available can outweigh the cost of tuition.

So please, before judging, maybe talk to a student at one of these institutions. They will probably tell you that any college is only as worthwhile as the effort you are willing to put into your time there, but at some of these schools, the prestige from these rankings allows a greater number of opportunities to place your effort in.

[andrebhub]

09:20 AM on 09/14/2011

I interact with some of these students. A lot of them intern where I work. When I tell them I graduated from a SUNY college or they see my class ring you should see the look on some of their faces and the amount of questions they ask. It's even worse when they find out some of my bosses don't have college degrees. I don't wrong them for wanting to be among the best of the best, but they should get rid of the notion that they are "better educated" than others because they went to Columbia or MIT.

[rukiskidd]

04:49 PM on 09/14/2011

Hmmm. I think you misunderstand the definition of better educated. They are better educated than you. They attended a vastly superior school compared to yours. You might know more about the job you currently hold, but that has nothing to do with your education.

[Upside]

03:46 PM on 09/14/2011

Go Maroons! Arguably the best undergrad education available in the country.

[andrebhub]

01:16 AM on 09/14/2011

My physics professor always told us, those kids across the street aren't smarter than you, their degrees just have a shiny name on it. I went to cuny city tech, and I took some classes across the street at polytech, only the cost was different.

[TenorArchitect]

10:24 AM on 09/14/2011

..The only difference was cost. :-) Very true.

[Luke Thompson]

10:33 AM on 09/14/2011

No, the only difference it seems is that they have a more well regarded degree.

[InfinteShibumi]

01:01 PM on 09/16/2011

Ouch.

[NancyY]

12:40 AM on 09/14/2011

The University of Houston was recently ranked as a "Tier 1" university, whatever the heck that means.

[IWantTofu]

12:27 PM on 09/19/2011

it means FBC.

[piggles]

12:18 AM on 09/14/2011

These rankings do nothing but create a system of superficial prestige for higher education. School is about learning, not paying a ridiculous amount of money to obtain a piece a paper that certifies that one is smart only if they got it from a certain institution.

American universities have many woes, from underfunding to pay-to-be-considered "endowments," but if we could please come to the understanding that education is about preparing young minds to innovate something that furthers the progress of human beings and not a competition of who is elite and who is not. The end goal is for graduates to do something with what they've learned, not flaunt where they came from.

It should also be noted that many successful individuals (as measured by net-worth) left very prestigious institutions to pursue ideas that changed society. Think Gates and Zuckerburg.

[NancyY]

12:39 AM on 09/14/2011

Some of us go back to school to earn degrees later in life. I did this, and my efforts and degree have served me well.

[piggles]

06:08 PM on 09/14/2011

I'm not saying there's something wrong with getting a degree. I have one too and I'm looking to go back to school to learn some more. What I am saying is that it's absurd for a young person's future to be dictated almost entirely by the institution that issued them that degree. "The Choice," as NYT likes to call it, should be based on a school's resources, not its prestige factor.

However, we do unfortunately live in a society where HR judges its entry-level hires based not on an applicant's merits, but what brand-name school is on the applicant's diploma. So we end up with lists like these which basically break down into "your kid will make X dollars in life if you send them to this school." Why do we educate our young? For future earnings? Do we not care about innovations that add some value to the human existence anymore?

[croshatch]

10:50 PM on 09/13/2011

To any potential college students using these rankings to make their choices of where to go, keep in mind that within any university system, there may be good or bad individual schools. A high overall ranking, say, may not mean a university's business school, liberal arts or fine arts school is necessarily highly ranked. Or, they may be more highly ranked.

[King Nine]

10:35 PM on 09/13/2011

I didn't see Western Nevada Community College listed...?????

[USA10]

10:34 PM on 09/13/2011

It's at the college level because the students have grown up and matured. But at the lower levels it is a nightmare. Just read today that a Chicago ELEMENTARY SCHOOL a girl was molested / raped repeatedly (different occasions) by two other students. ELEMENTARY AGE??? Need serious attention with the kids.