College Rankings
Many students and parents are interested in learning about how the 3,000 colleges and universities in the country are ranked. In response to this interest, National College Search has compiled a select list of the top 100 colleges and 100 universities. For your convenience, National College Search has also included each school's website to help you learn more additional information about any of the schools listed.
Our lists are designed to be a resource to students, parents, and educators as they begin to learn about the levels of selectivity that are reflected in various institutions throughout the country. Some of the factors used by National College Search in determining the rankings and listings include the following: SAT/ACT scores, GPA, class rank, percentage of applicants accepted, student/teacher ratios, facilities, curriculum, retention and graduation statistics, and student services. Our readers are reminded that less than 10% of the nation's colleges and universities are included on the list.
Although our list is comprised of only the most highly selective institutions, it is not meant to imply that excellent choices cannot be found among the other less selective schools. We hope this list can serve as a useful tool for all students who are researching their college choices.
Top 50 Colleges |
|
| 1. Amherst College(MA) | www.amherst.edu |
| 2. Williams College(MA) | www.williams.edu |
| 3. Swarthmore College(PA) | www.swarthmore.edu |
| 4. Wesleyan University(CT) | www.wesleyan.edu |
| 5. Pomona College(CA) | www.pomona.edu |
| 6. Bowdoin College(ME) | www.bowdoin.edu |
| 7. Haverford College(PA) | www.haverford.edu |
| 8. Middlebury College(VT) | www.middlebury.edu |
| 9. Washington & Lee University(VA) | www.wlu.edu |
| 10. Davidson College(NC) | www.davidson.edu |
| 11. Wellesley College(MA) | www.wellesley.edu |
| 12. Carleton College(MN) | www.carleton.edu |
| 13. Bates College(ME) | www.bates.edu |
| 14. Claremont McKenna College(CA) | www. cmc.edu |
| 15. Vassar College(NY) | www.vassar.edu |
| 16. Hamilton College(NY) | www.hamilton.edu |
| 17. Colby College(ME) | www.colby.edu |
| 18. Colgate University(NY) | www.colgate.edu |
| 19. Smith College(MA) | www.smith.edu |
| 20. Grinnell College(IA) | www.grinnell.edu |
| 21. Barnard College(NY) | www.barnard.edu |
| 22. Connecticut College(CT) | www.conncoll.edu |
| 23. Trinity College(CT) | www.trincoll.edu |
| 24. Bryn Mawr College(PA) | www.brynmawr.edu |
| 25. College of the Holy Cross(MA) | www.holycross.edu |
| 26. Macalester College(MN) | www.macalester.edu |
| 27. Bucknell University(PA) | www.bucknell.edu |
| 28. Lafayette College(PA) | www.lafayette.edu |
| 29. Oberlin College(OH) | www.oberlin.edu |
| 30. Mount Holyoke College(MA) | www.mtholyoke.edu |
| 31. Whitman College(VA) | www.whitman.edu |
| 32. Franklin & Marshall(PA) | www.fandm.edu |
| 33. Union College(NY) | www.union.edu |
| 34. University of the South(TN) | www.sewanee.edu |
| 35. Colorado College(CO) | www.coloradocollege.edu |
| 36. Bard College(NY) | www.bard.edu |
| 37. Kenyon College(OH) | www.kenyon.edu |
| 38. Grove City College | www.gcc.edu |
| 39. DePauw University(IN) | www.depauw.edu |
| 40. Scripps College(CA) | www. scrippscollege.edu |
| 41. Wheaton College(IL) | www.wheaton.edu |
| 42. Occidental College(CA) | www.oxy.edu |
| 43. Rhodes College(TN) | www.rhodes.edu |
| 44. Sarah Lawrence College(NY) | www.slc.edu |
| 45. Gettysburg College(PA) | www.gettysburg.edu |
| 46. Furman University(SC) | www.furman.edu |
| 47. Skidmore College(NY) | www.skidmore.edu |
| 48. Dickinson College(PA) | www.dickinson.edu |
| 49. Reed College(OR) | www.reed.edu |
| 50. St. Olaf College(MN) | www.stolaf.edu |
Colleges - 2nd tier 51-75+ (listed in alphabetical order) |
|
| Agnes Scott College(GA) | www.agnesscott.edu |
| Austin College(TX) | www.austincollege.edu |
| Beloit College(TX) | www.beloit.edu |
| Bennington College(VT) | www.bennington.edu |
| Centre College(KY) | www.centre.edu |
| Denison University(OH) | www.denison.edu |
| Drew University(NJ) | www.drew.edu |
| Gustavus Adolphus College(MN) | www. gustavus.edu |
| Hampshire College(MA) | www. hampshire.edu |
| Kalamazoo College(MI) | www.kzoo.edu |
| Knox College(IL) | www.knox.edu |
| Lewis & Clark College(OR) | www.lclark.edu |
| Illinois Wesleyan University(IL) | www.iwu.edu |
| Lawrence University(WI) | www.lawrence.edu |
| Loyola College(MD) | www.loyola.edu |
| Mary Washington College(VA) | www. umw.edu |
| Muhlenberg College(PA) | www.muhlenberg.edu |
| Oglethorpe University(GA) | www.oglethorpe.edu |
| Pitzer College(CA) | www.pitzer.edu |
| Providence College(RI) | www.providence.edu |
| Randolph-Macon Woman's College(VA) | www. randolphcollege.edu |
| Rollins College(FL) | www.rollins.edu |
| Saint Lawrence University(NY) | www.stlawu.edu |
| Southwestern University(TX) | www.southwestern.edu |
| St. Mary's College of Maryland(MD) | www.smcm.edu |
| Susquehanna University(PA) | www.susqu.edu |
| Trinity University(TX) | www.trinity.edu |
| University of Puget Sound(WA) | www.ups.edu |
| Wabash College(IN) | www.wabash.edu |
| Wheaton College(MA) | www.wheatonma.edu |
| Willamette University(OR) | www.willamette.edu |
Colleges - 3rd tier 76-100+ (listed in alphabetical order) |
|
| Albion College(MI) | www.albion.edu |
| Allegheny College(PA) | www.alleg.edu |
| Birmingham-Southern College(AL) | www.bsc.edu |
| Coe College(IA) | www.coe.edu |
| College of New Jersey(MJ) | www.tcnj.edu |
| College of Wooster(OH) | www.wooster.edu |
| Cornell College(IA) | www.cornellcollege.edu |
| Earlham College(IN) | www.earlham.edu |
| Goucher College(MD) | www.goucher.edu |
| Guilford College(NC) | www.guilford.edu |
| Hampden-Sydney College(VA) | www.hsc.edu |
| Hendrix College(AR) | www.hendrix.edu |
| Hiram College(OH) | www.hiram.edu |
| Hobart & William Smith Colleges(NY) | www.hws.edu |
| Hollins University(VA) | www.hollins.edu |
| Ithaca College(NY) | www.ithaca.edu |
| Lake Forest College(IL) | www.lfc.edu |
| Millsaps College(MS) | www.millsaps.edu |
| Ohio Wesleyan University(OH) | www.owu.edu |
| Presbyterian College(SC) | www.presby.edu |
| Randolph-Macon College(VA) | www.rmc.edu |
| Ripon College(WI) | www.ripon.edu |
| Simmons College(MA) | www.simmons.edu |
| Spelman College(GA) | www.spelman.edu |
| Sweet Briar College(VA) | www.sbc.edu |
| Transylvania University(KY) | www.transy.edu |
| Ursinus College(PA) | www.ursinus.edu |
| Wofford College(SC) | www.wofford.edu |
Top 50 Universities |
|
| 1. Harvard University(MA) | www.harvard.edu |
| 2. Yale University(CT) | www.yale.edu |
| 3. Princeton University(NJ) | www.princeton.edu |
| 4. Massachusetts Ins. of Technology(MA) | www.mit.edu |
| 5. California Ins. Of Technology(CA) | www.caltech.edu |
| 6. Stanford University(CA) | www.stanford.edu |
| 7. Dartmouth College(NH) | www.dartmouth.edu |
| 8. Columbia University(NY) | www.columbia.edu |
| 9. University of Pennsylvania(PA) | www.upenn.edu |
| 10. Duke University(NC) | www.duke.edu |
| 11. Cornell University(NY) | www.cornell.edu |
| 12. Brown University(RI) | www.brown.edu |
| 13. Northwestern University(IL) | www. northwestern.edu |
| 14. Rice University(TX) | www.rice.edu |
| 15. University of Chicago(IL) | www.uchicago.edu |
| 16. John Hopkins University(MD) | www.jhu.edu |
| 17. Washington Univ.in St. Louis(MO) | www.wustl.edu |
| 18. University of Notre Dame(IN) | www.nd.edu |
| 19. Georgetown University(DC) | www.georgetown.edu |
| 20. Tufts University(MA) | www.tufts.edu |
| 21. University of California-Berkeley(CA) | www.berkeley.edu |
| 22. University of Virgina(VA) | www.virginia.edu |
| 23. Carnegie Mellon University(PA) | www.cmu.edu |
| 24. Vanderbilt University(TN) | www.vanderbilt.edu |
| 25. Univ. of California-Los Angeles(CA) | www.ucla.edu |
| 26. Emory University(GA) | www.emory.edu |
| 27. Wake Forest University(NC) | www.wfu.edu |
| 28. Univ. of N. Carolina-Chapel Hill(NC) | www.unc.edu |
| 29. College of William & Mary(VA) | www.wm.edu |
| 30. Boston College(MA) | www.bc.edu |
| 31. New York University(NY) | www.nyu.edu |
| 32. Brandeis University(MA) | www.brandeis.edu |
| 33. Boston University(MA) | www.bu.edu |
| 34. Univ. of Michigan(Ann Arbor(MI) | www. umich.edu |
| 35. University of Rochester(NY) | www.rochester.edu |
| 36. Georgia Institute of Technology(GA) | www.gatech.edu |
| 37. Lehigh University(PA) | www. lehigh.edu |
| 38. University of Southern California(CA) | www.usc.edu |
| 39. Univ. of California-San Diego(CA) | www.ucsd.edu |
| 40. Case Western Reserve(OH) | www.cwru.edu |
| 41. University of Wisconsin-Madison(WI) | www.wisc.edu |
| 42. Penn State Univ.-UniversityPark(PA) | www.psu.edu |
| 43. Syracuse University(NY) | www.syracuse.edu |
| 44. University of Florida(FL) | www.ufl.edu |
| 45. Univ.of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign(IL) | www.uiuc.edu |
| 46. Pepperdine University(CA) | www.pepperdine.edu |
| 47. Villanova University(PA) | www.villanova.edu |
| 48. Tulane University(LA) | www.tulane.edu |
| 49. Univ.of California- Davis(CA) | www.ucdavis.edu |
| 50. Univ. of Texas at Austin(TX) | www.utexas.edu |
Universities - 2nd tier 51-75+ (listed in alphabetical order) |
|
| Cal. Polytech State U-San Luis Obispo(CA) | www.calpoly.edu |
| Colorado School of Mines(CO) | www.mines.edu |
| Florida State University(FL) | www.fsu.edu |
| Fordham University(NY) | www.fordham.edu |
| George Washington University(DC) | www.gwu.edu |
| Illinois Institute of Technology(IL) | www.iit.edu |
| James Madison University(VA) | www.jmu.edu |
| Rensselar Polytechnic Institute(NY) | www.rpi.edu |
| Rutgers University(NJ) | www.rutgers.edu |
| State Univ. of NY-Binghamton(NY) | www.binghamton.edu |
| State Univ. of NY-Geneseo(NY) | www.geneseo.edu |
| Stevens Institute of Technology(NJ) | www.stevens.edu |
| Texas A&M Univ.-College Station(TX) | www.tamu.edu |
| Truman State University(MO) | www.truman.edu |
| Univ. of California-Irvine(CA) | www.uci.edu |
| Univ. of California-Santa Barbara(CA) | www.ucsb.edu |
| Univ. of California-Santa Cruz(CA) | www.ucsc.edu |
| University of Dallas(TX) | www.udallas.edu |
| University of Maryland(MD) | www.maryland.edu |
| University of Miami(FL) | www.miami.edu |
| University of Missouri-Rolla(MO) | www. mst.edu |
| Univ. of N. Carolina-Asheville(NC) | www.unca.edu |
| Valparaiso University(IN) | www.valpo.edu |
| Virgina Tech(VA) | www.vt.edu |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute(MA) | www.wpi.edu |
Colleges - 4rd tier 76-100+ (listed in alphabetical order) |
|
| American University(DC) | www.american.edu |
| Baylor University(TX) | www.baylor.edu |
| Catholic University of America(DC) | www.cua.edu |
| Clark University(MA) | www.clarku.edu |
| Clemson University(SC) | www.clemson.edu |
| Gonzaga University(WA) | www.gonzaga.edu |
| Howard University(DC) | www.howard.edu |
| Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania(PA) | www.iup.edu |
| Miami University(OH) | www.muohio.edu |
| Michigan Technological University(MI) | www.mtu.edu |
| N. Carolina State University-Raleigh(NC) | www.ncsu.edu |
| Saint Louis University(MO) | www.slu.edu |
| Southern Methodist University(TX) | www.smu.edu |
| Texas Christian University(TX) | www.tcu.edu |
| University of Colorado-Boulder(CO) | www.colorado.edu |
| University of Connecticut(CT) | www.uconn.edu |
| University of Delaware(DE) | www.udel.edu |
| University of Iowa(IA) | www.uiowa.edu |
| University of Kansas(KS) | www. ku.edu |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst(MA) | www.umass.edu |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities(MN) | www.umn.edu |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburg(PA) | www.pitt.edu |
| University of Redlands(CA) | www.redlands.edu |
| University of San Francisco(CA) | www.usfca.edu |
| University of Vermont(VT) | www.uvm.edu |
| University of Washington(WA) | www.washington.edu |
| Wittenberg University(OH) | www.wittenberg.edu |