What are the best colleges and universities in the United States? Tis the season for high school juniors and seniors to start looking at and applying to colleges. This list has come out at the absolute best time. U.S. News & World Report has released its list of the best colleges and universities. The rankings, however, have been causing some controversy in the past 24 hours. Many are accusing the colleges and universities of flubbing their numbers since they are submitted by the colleges and universities themselves. According to the U.S. News & World Report website, “For the 2022-2023 edition, U.S. News did not add new ranking indicators or modify the weights of existing indicators for the overall rankings. You can view those changes HERE.
How did they come up with this year’s rankings? According to Boston.com, “U.S. News used 17 metrics of academic quality to evaluate 1,500 colleges and universities, giving the most weight to outcome measures, such as social mobility, graduation and retention rates, and the average indebtedness for graduates.” You can read Boston.com’s story HERE.
As far as liberal arts colleges, several Massachusetts schools made the top 100 starting with the top three:
1. Williams College (MA)
2. Amherst College (MA)
3. Pomona College (CA)
New England schools in the rest of the top 100:
5. Wellesley College (MA)
6. Bowdoin College (ME) (tied with Carleton College and United States Naval Academy)
11. Middlebury College (VT) (tied with Washington and Lee University)
13. Smith College (MA) (tied with Vassar College)
18. Wesleyan University (CT) (tied with Barnard College, Colgate University, Haverford College, United States Air Force Academy, and University of Richmond)
24. Colby College (ME)
25. Bates College (ME)
33. College of the Holy Cross (MA) (tied with Pitzer College and Scripts College)
36. Mount Holyoke College (MA)
39. Trinity College (CT) (tied with Denison University, Franklin & Marshall College, Lafayette College, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Skidmore College)
55. Connecticut College (CT) (tied with Centre College, Rhodes College, Trinity University, and Wabash College)
84. Bennington College (VT)
89. Stonehill College (MA) & Wheaton College (MA) (tied with Juniata College, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Ursinus College)
As far as the rankings of Best Universities
CAMBRIDGE, MA – OCTOBER 10: Massachusetts Institute of Technology students play football outside the Maclaurin building October 10, 2003 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by William B. Plowman/Getty Images)
