U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, today announced the 2022-2023 Best Colleges. Serving as a guide for prospective students and their families, the rankings evaluate 1,500 colleges and universities on up to 17 measures of academic quality.

"For nearly 40 years, the Best Colleges methodology has continuously evolved to reflect changes in the higher education landscape and the interests of prospective students," said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News. "Guiding that evolution is U.S. News' mission of providing useful data and information to help with one of life's biggest decisions."

This year's rankings include:

Update to SAT/ACT calculation: In previous editions, SAT/ACT scores were, in effect, reduced if too few students submitted scores. For this edition, U.S. News discontinued this practice. For schools that reported SAT/ACT scores for less than 50% of new entrants in consecutive years, U.S. News did not use those scores to calculate the school's rank. Instead, U.S. News increased the weights of two other ranking factors: high school class standing and average graduation rate. This change was made due to the pandemic's effects on testing in 2020, when the supply and demand for taking the SAT/ACT plummeted, particularly among students from low-income backgrounds.

More comprehensive measure of faculty resources: The percent of faculty with a terminal degree now includes the share of part-time faculty with a terminal degree. Previously, this metric assessed only full-time faculty. This is a more comprehensive measurement that now includes highly credentialed faculty regardless of their employment contract. This change reflects the growing number of part-time instructors at schools.

Updates to the ranking categories: About 10% of ranked schools moved into different categories this year. For example, a school ranked previously as a Regional University may now be ranked as a National University. This is due to the "2021 update" from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, which U.S. News has used since the first Best Colleges rankings in 1983 to compare schools with similar missions.
To calculate the rankings, U.S. News focuses on academic quality and places emphasis on outcome measures – including graduation rates, retention rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility. Outcomes are the most highly weighted ranking factor, contributing 40% to each school's overall score.

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2022-2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges

National Universities – Top 3

1. Princeton University (NJ)
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Harvard University (MA) (tie)
3. Stanford University (CA) (tie)
3. Yale University (CT) (tie)

National Liberal Arts Colleges – Top 3

1. Williams College (MA)
2. Amherst College (MA)
3. Pomona College (CA)

Top Public Schools
National Universities – Top 3

1. University of California, Berkeley (tie)
1. University of California, Los Angeles (tie)
3. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (tie)
3. University of Virginia (tie)

National Liberal Arts Colleges – Top 3

1. United States Naval Academy
2. United States Military Academy at West Point
3. United States Air Force Academy

Top Performers on Social Mobility
National Universities – Top 3

1. Keiser University (FL)
2. University of California, Riverside
3. California State University – Long Beach

National Liberal Arts Colleges – Top 3

1. Salem College (NC)
2. Lake Forest College (IL)
3. Tougaloo College (MS)

Alongside the rankings, U.S. News publishes editorial content related to the college selection experience. This includes advice on topics such as how parents should approach college visits, when to submit your college application, how to choose a major and more.

On Sept. 21, U.S. News will host a free webinar on the new edition of Best Colleges, with presentations from the lead ranking analysts. Those interested in attending can register here.

To learn more about the U.S. News College Compass, which provides access to the most complete rankings and data, or to order a copy of the "Best Colleges 2023" guidebook (ISBN 979-8-9864591-0-3), visit the online U.S. News store.

U.S. News Academic Insights is a higher education analytical tool that provides instant access to U.S. News historical rankings, tracks important metrics over time, and creates a comparative analysis of peer institutions. For more information, visit ai.usnews.com.