Top 10 Colleges in the US for 2022

The Best Colleges ranking is based on rigorous analysis of data from the US Department of Education on academics, admissions, financial aid, student life, and millions of reviews from students and alumni. The ranking compares over 1,000 of the best colleges and universities in the United States. The weight of ACT/SAT scores has been reduced in this year's rankings to reflect a general de-emphasis on test scores in college admissions. 

The college ranking season has arrived, and each year, media outlets (including this one) compete to create the most insightful lists, often with increasing complexity. However, the best way to evaluate a four-year college education may revolve around just one variable – alumni giving. Most colleges' primary goal is to produce happy and successful graduates who give back instead of crunching the standard ROI metrics – such as employment statistics, salaries, and job placement statistics.  

Top Colleges in the US for 2022

Following is a list of the top 10 colleges in the US for the season: 

University of California, Berkeley 

UC Berkeley, one of the country's top public universities, has a long history of influencing technological and social change. The faculty at Berkeley was involved in the discovery of vitamins E and K, the development of the atomic bomb, and the development of the flu vaccine.

Yale University  

The second oldest Ivy League institution, Yale, is known for its highly-regarded programs in history, economics, psychology, and English. Students are allotted to one of fourteen residential colleges on the school's New Haven, CT, campus. Each college has a large courtyard and distinct colonial, Gothic, or modernist architecture. Throughout their undergraduate careers, students are involved with their respective colleges. 

Princeton University 

Princeton University is a leading private research university in Princeton, New Jersey, and the country's fourth-oldest college. Students are assigned to one of six residential colleges and are guaranteed housing for the duration of their four years of study.

Princeton students can choose from over 30 majors and 50 certificates. Social sciences, STEM, and public policy are popular programs. Princeton strives to keep classes small and uses a precept system to allow for more intimate group discussions outside of class. Every senior completes a thesis or an independent research project. 

Stanford University  

Stanford University, located just outside of Palo Alto, California, is a world-class private research university known for its STEM programs, which have produced numerous Nobel Prize, Turing Award, and Fields Medal winners. Outside of the classroom, Stanford students lead active lives. The university has 36 varsity teams and 33 club sports, and busy Greek life and community service through the Cardinal Service program.

Columbia University  

Columbia University in New York is a private Ivy League university in upper Manhattan. The school takes advantage of its location to provide students with abundant resources and learning opportunities. Columbia University has three undergraduate programs: the flagship Columbia College, the engineering college, and the School of General Studies, which accepts nontraditional students. Columbia's core curriculum, which includes literature, writing, art, and science requirements, benefits students seeking a broad liberal arts education.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Every year, MIT, a leading global research university, attracts some of the most brilliant young brainiacs to its Cambridge, MA, campus. MIT is a hotbed of innovation. MIT researchers filed 439 patents last year, and 25 companies were formed using the school's intellectual property.

Harvard University 

Harvard University, founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the country's oldest institution of higher learning and has long been the gold standard of American education. After spending their first year in Harvard Yard dormitories, students are assigned to one of 12 on-campus residential houses, each with its dining hall, intramural sports teams, and unique traditions.

University of California, Los Angeles  

Students applying to the University of California, Los Angeles face stiff competition: The country's most applied-to university is the public research university. It received over 139,000 applications from prospective first-year students this year.

UCLA has over 125 undergraduate majors, so there are plenty of options. Award-winning faculty members teach students—eight professors were awarded Guggenheim Fellowships just this year—and two on-campus centers assist in matching faculty and undergraduate students for research opportunities.

University of Pennsylvania 

The University of Pennsylvania is located on nearly 300 acres in West Philadelphia, close to downtown and several neighboring colleges. The University of Pennsylvania has four undergraduate colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the School of Nursing, and the Wharton School, the nation's first collegiate business school.

Northwestern University 

Northwestern University, a prestigious private university in Evanston, Illinois, offers students a world-class education in various fields. Northwestern has three campuses around the world: its main campus in Evanston, just north of Chicago, a graduate and professional school hub in downtown Chicago, and an overseas campus in Doha, Qatar, where students can efficiently study abroad. 

The ranking is done per Forbes's survey of colleges and universities in the United States based on their return on investment and student outcomes. Schools fared well if their students graduated on time, earned high wages with little debt, and went on to have successful careers. They added several new measures and datasets to strengthen the findings this year. Data was then reframed to assess alumni salaries better, add a new metric to determine how quickly graduates paid off college debt, and consider how thriving schools served low-income students.

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