Each year, Forbes provides a list of the top colleges in the United States, including national universities and liberal arts colleges. These schools offer excellent education in a wide range of subjects.
School Overviews
Some of the top colleges in the U.S. include Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University and Williams College. Each of these schools was ranked among the top 10 by Forbes in 2016, and they were all also highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report in their respective categories in 2016.
Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey
| School Highlight: Princeton has an enrollment of 8,088 students. |
The fourth-oldest university in the U.S., Princeton University was ranked #1 among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2016, and it was ranked #3 by Forbes. This private, Ivy League university houses several of the most well-equipped research libraries in the U.S., with over six million cataloged books and a wide selection of other materials. Students can pursue bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in fields ranging from architecture to physics.
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
| School Highlight: Harvard has an enrollment of 28,791 students. |
Harvard University, established in 1636 when Massachusetts was still a colony, is the oldest postsecondary institution in the U.S. In 2016, it was ranked #2 among national universities by U.S. News & World Report, and it was ranked #4 by Forbes among all of America's colleges. Harvard University includes an undergraduate college and Harvard College, as well as 11 graduate and professional colleges that confer master's, doctoral and professional degrees. Graduate colleges include schools of business, law and medicine, all of which enjoy an excellent reputation.
Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut
| School Highlight: Yale has an enrollment of 12,336 students. |
Established in 1701, Yale University was tied for #3 on the U.S. News & World Report list of the top national universities in 2016, and it was #6 on the Forbes list. One of the top research universities in the U.S., the school has committed to a long-term investment of approximately one billion dollars in construction and renovation to revamp research labs and scientific facilities. Yale University consists of an undergraduate school, graduate college and various professional schools, including those devoted to architecture, medicine, nursing and law. The university is also home to the Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Yale Center for British Art.
Williams College in Williamstown, MA
| School Highlight: Williams has an enrollment of 2,126 students. |
Established in 1793, Williams College is the second-oldest college in Massachusetts. In 2016, the school was ranked #1 among all liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report, and it was also took the #2 spot on the Forbes list. Williams is primarily an undergraduate institution, offering 36 undergraduate majors in the arts and humanities, social sciences and sciences/mathematics. However, there is also a two-year art history master's degree program available, as well as a one-year master's degree program in development economics for international students. For undergraduates, Williams offers unique tutorial-style classes based on the Oxford system, where students pursue independent academic work and meet for a weekly in-depth discussion with a professor and only one other student.
Top National Colleges and Liberal Arts Schools
According to the Forbes list that was published in 2016, these are the top 100 colleges in the United States:
| School Name | Location | Total Student Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Stanford University | Stanford, CA | 16,963 |
| Williams College | Williamstown, MA | 2,126 |
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | 8,088 |
| Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | 28,791 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | 11,319 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | 12,336 |
| Pomona College | Claremont, CA | 1,650 |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | 9,181 |
| Wesleyan University | Middletown, CT | 3,224 |
| Swarthmore College | Swarthmore, PA | 1,542 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | 24,806 |
| Amherst College | Amherst, MA | 1,792 |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN | 12,179 |
| United States Military Academy | West Point, NY | 4,414 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | 21,554 |
| Columbia University | New York, NY | 27,589 |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | 6,298 |
| Tufts University | Medford, MA | 10,907 |
| Bowdoin College | Brunswick, ME | 1,805 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | 15,097 |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | 17,858 |
| Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | 14,317 |
| Haverford College | Haverford, PA | 1,194 |
| United States Naval Academy | Annapolis, MD | 4,511 |
| Davidson College | Davidson, NC | 1,770 |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | 15,856 |
| Carleton College | Northfield, MN | 2,057 |
| Washington and Lee University | Lexington, VA | 2,264 |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | 21,679 |
| Rice University | Houston, TX | 6,621 |
| Claremont McKenna College | Claremont, CA | 1,324 |
| Wellesley College | Wellesley, MA | 2,323 |
| Vassar College | Poughkeepsie, NY | 2,421 |
| Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT | 2,533 |
| United States Air Force Academy | Colorado | 3,952 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | 23,732 |
| Barnard College | New York, NY | 2,573 |
| College of William & Mary | Williamsburg, VA | 8,437 |
| California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, CA | 2,209 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | 37,565 |
| Colby College | Watertown, ME | 1,847 |
| Colgate University | Hamilton, NY | 2,888 |
| Oberlin College | Oberlin, OH | 2,978 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | 43,625 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN | 12,686 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | 41,845 |
| University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | 29,135 |
| Kenyon College | Gambier, OH | 1,662 |
| Bucknell University | Lewisburg, PA | 3,624 |
| Hamilton College | Hamilton, NY | 1,904 |
| College of the Holy Cross | Worcester, MA | 2,787 |
| Bates College | Lewiston, ME | 1,773 |
| Whitman College | Walla Walla, WA | 1,498 |
| Smith College | Northampton, MA | 2,989 |
| Lafayette College | Easton, PA | 2,503 |
| Franklin and Marshall College | Lancaster, PA | 2,209 |
| Colorado College | Colorado Spring, CO | 2,067 |
| University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | 11,060 |
| Harvey Mudd College | Claremont, CA | 804 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis, MO | 14,348 |
| Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, NC | 7,788 |
| Villanova University | Villanova, PA | 10,735 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | 12,587 |
| Reed College | Portland, OR | 1,394 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | 42,453 |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | 21,372 |
| Emory University | Atlanta, GA | 14,769 |
| Macalester College | St. Paul, MN | 2,073 |
| University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI | 42,598 |
| Bryn Mawr College | Bryn Mawr, PA | 1,709 |
| Union College | Schenectady, NY | 2,242 |
| University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign | Champaign, IL | 45,140 |
| Grinnell College | Grinnell, IA | 1,734 |
| Brandeis University | Waltham, MA | 5,945 |
| University of Washington | Seattle, WA | 44,784 |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem, PA | 7,119 |
| New York University | New York, NY | 49,274 |
| University of Florida | Gainesville, FL | 49,459 |
| Boston University | Boston, MA | 32,112 |
| Dickinson College | Carlisle, PA | 2,364 |
| Connecticut College | New London, CT | 1,900 |
| University of Maryland | College Park, MD | 37,610 |
| Scripps College | Claremont, CA | 988 |
| Trinity College | Hartford, CT | 2,408 |
| Skidmore College | Saratoga Springs, NY | 2,646 |
| Brigham Young University | Provo, UT | 30,484 |
| Wheaton College | Wheaton, IL | 2,914 |
| Santa Clara University | Santa Clara, CA | 9,015 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA | 23,109 |
| Kalamazoo College | Kalamazoo, MI | 1,461 |
| DePauw University | Greencastle, IN | 2,215 |
| Cooper Union | New York, NY | 966 |
| University of Texas - Austin | Austin, TX | 51,313 |
| Sewanee - University of the South | Sewanee, TN | 1,714 |
| University of Georgia | Athens, GA | 35,197 |
| Trinity University | San Antonio, TX | 2,432 |
| Rhodes College | Memphis, TN | 2,054 |
| Denison University | Granville, OH | 2,278 |
| Occidental College | Los Angeles, CA | 2,040 |
| Centre College | Danville, KY | 1,387 |
Students can find excellent education at any one of the top 100 colleges in the United States.
