2013-14 College Rankings

US News Releases its 2014 Best Colleges Rankings Just in Time for Application Season US News World Report released its much-anticipated 2014 Best Colleges Rankings today, and, unlike in this year's Forbes rankings, there were few surprises. Princeton and Harvard took the number one and two spots this year, switching places from 2013's rankings. The top 10 National Universities remained unchanged, with a few schools flip flopping spots. Below are this year's Best Colleges Rankings compared to last year's spots. NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES 2013 2014 1. Harvard 1. Princeton 2. Princeton 2. Harvard 3. Yale 3. Yale 4. Columbia 4. Columbia 4. UChicago 5. Stanford 6.MIT 5. UChicago 6. Stanford 7. Duke 8. Duke 7. MIT 8. UPenn 7. UPenn 10. California Institute of Technology 10. California Institute of Technology 10. Dartmouth 10. Dartmouth 12. Northwestern 12. Johns Hopkins 13. Johns Hopkins 12. Northwestern 14. Washington University in St. Louis 14. Brown 15. Brown 14. Washington University in St. Louis LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES 2013 2014 1. Williams 1. Williams 2. Amherst 2. Amherst 3. Swarthmore 3. Swarthmore 4. Middlebury 4. Bowdoin 4. Pomona 4. Middlebury 6. Bowdoin 4. Pomona 6. Wellesley 7. Carleton 8. Carleton 7. Wellesley 9. Haverford 9. Claremont McKenna 10. Claremont McKenna 9. Davidson 10. Vassar 9. Haverford 12. Davidson 12. U.S. Naval Academy 12. Harvey Mudd 13. Vassar 14. U.S. Naval Academy 14. Hamilton 14. Washington and Lee 14. Washington and Lee The question that always arises when new rankings are released is how is this measured? Methodologies can vary year-to-year, so it's important to know what has changed from the year before, as this can significantly impact where a school falls on the list. Much of the data used to calculate the US News rankings is self-reported. This is why there are sometimes several cases each year of schools admitting to falsely reporting things like GPAs, SAT and ACT scores, etc. Last year, Tulane, Bucknell, Claremont McKenna, Emory, and George Washington University were the biggest culprits of misreported data. So what changed in US News's methodology this year? A couple of things. The weight of class rank was reduced from 6% to 3.125%. High school class standing dropped from 40% to 25% More weight was given to ACT and SAT scores in the student selectivity indicator, increasing from 50% to 65%. Weight of student selectivity overall has declined from 15% to 12.5%. Graduation and retention rates weight was increased from 20% to 22.5% for National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges. It was noted in this year's explanation of the methodology that these changes could impact a school's ranking, causing it to rise or fall a few spots. However, there were few significant spot changes this year. Forbes rankings, however, did have a few surprises this year. 2012 2013 1. Princeton 1. Stanford 2. Williams 2. Pomona 3. Stanford 3. Princeton 4. UChicago 4. Yale 5. Yale 5. Columbia 6. Harvard 6. Swarthmore 7. U.S. Military Academy 7. U.S. Military Academy 8. Columbia 8. Harvard 9. Pomona 9. Williams 10. Swarthmore 10. MIT 11. MIT 11. U Penn 12. Notre Dame 12. Brown 13. Amherst 13. Amherst 14. Bowdoin 14. UChicago 15. Washington and Lee 15. Duke Most notably, Stanford and Pomona took the top two spots, with Princeton falling to #3 and Harvard to #8. The top two schools on US News's list are barely in the top five on Forbes rankings. This is why, at, we like to caution students and parents on how much emphasis they put on rankings in the college search process. While the lists of Princeton Review Best 378 Colleges, US News's rankings, and Forbes Top Colleges are great places to start, you shouldn't let overall rankings be a major factor in your college decision. Instead, break down what's measured in these rankings, like graduation rates, student satisfaction, and post-grad success, to determine if a school is right for you. What do you think of this year's college rankings? Tell us in the comments below!