Our ranking of the best US universities is based on the academic impact of the schools’ faculty and alumni. We believe that schools with histories of hiring and developing influential faculty, and schools that produce students who become influential in their fields of study, are schools that demonstrate key indicators of academic excellence.
Every fall, more than 2 million high-school graduates will enroll in colleges and universities across the United States. With nearly 3,000 4-year schools to choose from, finding the best college for your educational, personal, and professional goals may be challenging. The purpose of this ranking is to help you manage this challenge. We offer a new perspective of the best universities in the US.
Intense competition for admission at the best universities in the US puts pressure on students. They think obtaining a degree from renowned national universities will enable them to enjoy a more lucrative future.
And while elite colleges undoubtedly draw the best students, whether these institutions directly impact professional outcomes is still up for discussion.
Regardless, there are several reasons why attending a more elite university can be advantageous for your future. Remember that we’re concentrating on the potential financial and professional advantages of attending a top-ranking college or university.
Aside from that, selective universities might push you intellectually further and let you hang out with similarly driven and accomplished people.
Students enrolled in the best universities in America will receive a higher quality of education than non-ranked institutions. But this is not to say that institutions not included on this list are not good. It’s just that top universities have award-winning higher education experts as part of their faculty.
These universities also have higher-caliber research than others, so prospective students will learn from the best and have the chance to cooperate and advance their profession by working with the best.
Top universities are first in line for funding opportunities in addition to high education standards. Hence, these universities can always finance necessary upkeep for student learning.
The best universities often own a copy of an original research paper, the most expensive laboratory equipment, and other research and faculty resources you most likely cannot find in less-known institutions.
Additionally, top universities have abundant financial aid opportunities to help reduce tuition and fees. Students are required to complete the FAFSA after choosing their undergraduate majors.
If you need more guidance on the process of applying for financial aid, refer to our Focus on the FAFSA.
Since the best universities have award-winning alumni and faculty, you will indeed be given a chance to create a vast network during your studies. You’ll not only have the opportunity to be taught by an excellent faculty, but you’ll also get to attend seminars hosted by industry-specific leaders.
Remember, the best universities hold the best seminars for college students, which gives them the chance to listen and build networks that can help them land jobs immediately after graduation.
Graduates from top universities in the US, such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University, have higher chances of getting employed at big companies. Additionally, graduates from top-tier universities often receive higher wages since they’re expected to provide better outcomes due to their extensive higher education training. Top universities also top the highest graduation rates.
You are surrounded by like-minded individuals who will challenge you. These are the people who, like you, made it through the difficult admissions process of top US universities. These people will often offer you the challenge you need to succeed in your chosen career.
Aside from the usual high GPAs, essays, and more, top universities are also strict regarding requirements such as SATs, APs, and extracurriculars.
SAT scores are reliable predictors of academic and professional success. Standardized examinations can provide evidence of and encourage academic rigor, which is crucial for students’ success in college and throughout their careers.
You should aim for scores between 1300 and 1400 if you are serious about attending a prestigious college or university.
Taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school show mastery of a subject. The scores for these courses have been standardized so that students can be assessed throughout the nation.
It is now mandatory for applicants to colleges like Stanford, MIT, and other Ivies to have completed at least six AP classes, achieving a score of at least 4 or 5.
Candidates must list extracurricular endeavors demonstrating leadership, zeal, and dedication. Participation in 8-10 of these activities is strongly recommended.
Our ranking of universities has the very best colleges and universities in the country based on the number of influential faculty and alumni affiliated with the schools over the past ten years. Larger schools have a huge advantage simply because they have more people. We also offer rankings that control for the size advatages of largers universities. Doing that reveals smaller colleges and universities that compete proportionally with largers universities. The rankings below use the method that controls for size advantages:
Using our proprietary InfluenceRanking™ Engine—innovative machine-learning technology that objectively measures a school’s influence through its students, faculty, staff, and alumni—we rank academic persons, institutions, and disciplinary programs. We use publicly available data and objective measures of influence to determine which schools give students the best academic experience and outcome.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence, the metric we use, provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
For higher education rankings, “best” may mean having the most knowledgeable departmental faculty, the most accomplished professors, or the most noteworthy alumni. For students passionately interested in a specific discipline, the best school is likely to be one widely recognized for excellence in that discipline. Our experience with and research into academic rankings suggests that influence gets at the heart of what is truly best in education.
To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.
We’ve identified a total of 1,392 colleges and universities in the US that meet our criteria. Of those, 637 are public institutions and 755 are private institutions. This list focuses on schools that offer bachelor’s degrees, and includes both public and private colleges and universities. In order to be included in this list of best colleges, a school needs to a regionally accredited nonprofit college or university.
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
4%
Graduation
97%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1520/34
Harvard University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
14%
Graduation
93%
Student body
43K
Median SAT/ACT
1420/32
University of California, Berkeley’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$64K
Acceptance
4%
Graduation
97%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1515/34
Columbia University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
6%
Graduation
96%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1535/34
University of Chicago’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
4%
Graduation
96%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1495/33
Stanford University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
5%
Graduation
97%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1520/34
Yale University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
4%
Graduation
98%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1510/33
Princeton University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
4%
Graduation
96%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1545/35
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
20%
Graduation
94%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1430/32
University of Michigan’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
6%
Graduation
96%
Student body
28K
Median SAT/ACT
1515/34
University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
94%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1470/33
Cornell University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$57K
Acceptance
13%
Graduation
87%
Student body
49K
Median SAT/ACT
1455/32
New York University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
8%
Graduation
95%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1515/35
Johns Hopkins University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
11%
Graduation
92%
Student body
46K
University of California, Los Angeles’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
4%
Graduation
93%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1555/35
California Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
84%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1326/30
University of Washington’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
60%
Graduation
89%
Student body
38K
Median SAT/ACT
1360/29
University of Wisconsin–Madison’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
84%
Student body
42K
Median SAT/ACT
1350/28
University of Minnesota’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
13%
Graduation
92%
Student body
38K
Median SAT/ACT
1435/32
University of Southern California’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
6%
Graduation
96%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1520/34
Duke University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
7%
Graduation
95%
Student body
20K
Median SAT/ACT
1490/34
Northwestern University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
29%
Graduation
88%
Student body
45K
Median SAT/ACT
1340/29
University of Texas at Austin’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
14%
Graduation
93%
Student body
16K
Median SAT/ACT
1510/34
Carnegie Mellon University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
6%
Graduation
96%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1500/34
Brown University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
21%
Graduation
94%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1415/32
University of Virginia’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
34%
Graduation
89%
Student body
41K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
University of California, San Diego’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
19%
Graduation
89%
Student body
32K
Median SAT/ACT
1405/32
Boston University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
12%
Graduation
95%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1465/33
Georgetown University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
81%
Student body
41K
Median SAT/ACT
1235/27
Indiana University Bloomington’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
67%
Graduation
84%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1331/30
University of Pittsburgh’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
6%
Graduation
94%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1500/33
Dartmouth College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
88%
Student body
56K
Median SAT/ACT
1320/29
Ohio State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
15%
Graduation
96%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1475/33
University of Notre Dame’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
83%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1295/29
Purdue University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$18K
Acceptance
60%
Graduation
85%
Student body
55K
Median SAT/ACT
1330/30
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
20%
Graduation
90%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1385/30
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
52%
Graduation
88%
Student body
36K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/32
University of Maryland, College Park’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
29%
Graduation
85%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1345/31
University of California, Santa Barbara’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
41%
Graduation
86%
Student body
12K
Median SAT/ACT
1420/32
University of Rochester’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
64%
Student body
40K
Median SAT/ACT
1220/25
University of Arizona’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$63K
Acceptance
11%
Graduation
94%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1455/33
Tufts University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
82%
Student body
22K
Syracuse University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
30%
Graduation
91%
Student body
48K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
University of Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
29%
Graduation
84%
Student body
37K
Median SAT/ACT
1330/29
University of California, Irvine’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
50%
Graduation
84%
Student body
20K
Median SAT/ACT
1360/31
George Washington University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
82%
Student body
43K
Median SAT/ACT
1200/26
Michigan State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
13%
Graduation
93%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1520/34
Washington University in St. Louis’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
67%
Student body
28K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/25
University of Utah’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
92%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1515/35
Rice University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
83%
Student body
61K
Median SAT/ACT
1270/29
Texas A&M University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Photo Credit: Harvard University’s Harvard Yard, By Mancala English Wikipedia, Public Domain.
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