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The 2027 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings are officially out, with some significant shifts from last year’s list.
MIT takes the No. 1 spot among National Universities, replacing Princeton University. Harvard remains at No. 3, while Yale holds steady at No. 4.
At the same time, several major public universities moved down, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
For students and families researching colleges in the U.S., the 2027 ranking offers a useful reference of where schools stand this year and how much their positions have changed since 2026.
What Changed in the 2027 U.S. News Rankings?
U.S. News evaluates colleges using a range of measures that produce statistics of student outcomes, academic resources, faculty, peer assessment, and other indicators of academic quality and success.
Student outcomes account for more than half of a school’s overall ranking score. These measures include graduation and retention rates, social mobility, and post-graduation earnings.
One notable change in the 2027 rankings is the introduction of Earnings by Major. The new measure looks at graduates’ earnings four years after graduation and compares earnings in the same field. The measure replaces the previous metric based on graduate indebtedness, shifting more attention toward earnings outcomes by field of study.
This year’s rankings also changed colleges’ categorization, along with several new rankings and expanded eligibility. Because of these changes, families should keep in mind that a year-to-year movement does not necessarily represent a corresponding change in the actual college experience.
2027 U.S. News National Universities Top 50
The table below compares the 2027 National Universities ranking with the 2026 ranking.
| 2027 Rank | University | 2026 Rank | Change |
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2 | ↑1 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 1 | ↓1 |
| 3 | Harvard University | 3 | — |
| 4 | Yale University | 4 | — |
| 5 | California Institute of Technology | 11 | ↑6 |
| 5 | Stanford University | 4 | ↓1 |
| 7 | University of Pennsylvania | 7 | — |
| 8 | Duke University | 7 | ↑1 |
| 9 | Johns Hopkins University | 7 | ↓2 |
| 9 | Northwestern University | 7 | ↓2 |
| 9 | University of Chicago | 6 | ↓3 |
| 12 | Columbia University | 15 | ↑3 |
| 12 | Dartmouth College | 13 | ↑1 |
| 14 | Carnegie Mellon University | 20 | ↑6 |
| 14 | Cornell University | 12 | ↓2 |
| 16 | Vanderbilt University | 17 | ↑1 |
| 16 | Brown University | 13 | ↓3 |
| 16 | Rice University | 17 | ↑1 |
| 16 | Washington University in St. Louis | 20 | ↑4 |
| 20 | University of California, Berkeley | 15 | ↓5 |
| 20 | University of California, Los Angeles | 17 | ↓3 |
| 20 | University of Notre Dame | 20 | — |
| 23 | Emory University | 24 | ↑1 |
| 23 | Georgetown University | 24 | ↑1 |
| 25 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | 20 | ↓5 |
| 26 | University of Virginia | 26 | — |
| 27 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 26 | ↓1 |
| 27 | University of Southern California | 28 | ↑1 |
| 29 | Georgia Institute of Technology | 32 | ↑3 |
| 29 | University of California, San Diego | 29 | — |
| 31 | Boston College | 36 | ↑5 |
| 31 | New York University | 32 | ↑1 |
| 31 | Tufts University | 36 | ↑5 |
| 34 | Boston University | 42 | ↑8 |
| 34 | University of California, Davis | 32 | ↓2 |
| 34 | University of California, Irvine | 32 | ↓2 |
| 34 | University of Florida | 30 | ↓4 |
| 34 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 36 | ↑2 |
| 34 | University of Texas at Austin | 30 | ↓4 |
| 34 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 36 | ↑2 |
| 34 | Wake Forest University | 51 | ↑17 |
| 42 | Northeastern University | 46 | ↑4 |
| 42 | Villanova University | 57 | ↑15 |
| 44 | Case Western Reserve University | 51 | ↑7 |
| 44 | Lehigh University | 46 | ↑2 |
| 44 | Ohio State University | 41 | ↓3 |
| 44 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 42 | ↓2 |
| 44 | University of California, Santa Barbara | 40 | ↓4 |
| 49 | University of Maryland, College Park | 42 | ↓7 |
| 49 | University of Rochester | 46 | ↓3 |
| 49 | University of Washington | 42 | ↓7 |
The following are some notable universities that saw significant shifts in this year’s rankings:
Major Gainers
- Caltech: Jumped six spots, moving from No. 11 to No. 5.
- Carnegie Mellon University: Climbed six places, rising from No. 20 to No. 14.
- Boston University: Made an eight-spot leap, advancing from No. 42 to No. 34.
- Tufts University: Gained five places, moving up to No. 31 (from No. 36).
- Boston College: Moved up five spots to share the No. 31 rank (from No. 36).
Notable Slips
- UC Berkeley: Fell five spots, shifting from No. 15 to No. 20.
- UCLA: Dropped three places, moving from No. 17 to No. 20.
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Slid five spots, moving from No. 20 to No. 25.
2027 U.S. News Liberal Arts Colleges Top 30
U.S. News also publishes a separate ranking for National Liberal Arts Colleges. These colleges generally place a strong emphasis on undergraduate education and often have smaller student populations than large research universities.
Here is a comparison between the 2027 ranking and the 2026 ranking:
| 2027 Rank | Liberal Arts College | 2026 Rank | Change |
| 1 | Williams College | 1 | — |
| 2 | Amherst College | 2 | — |
| 3 | Bowdoin College | 5 | ↑2 |
| 3 | Claremont McKenna College | 7 | ↑4 |
| 3 | Pomona College | 7 | ↑4 |
| 3 | Swarthmore College | 4 | ↑1 |
| 3 | U.S. Naval Academy | 3 | — |
| 8 | Harvey Mudd College | 10 | ↑2 |
| 9 | United States Military Academy | 10 | ↑1 |
| 10 | Wellesley College | 7 | ↓3 |
| 11 | U.S. Air Force Academy | 10 | ↓1 |
| 12 | Vassar College | 13 | ↑1 |
| 12 | Washington and Lee University | 21 | ↑9 |
| 14 | Hamilton College | 13 | ↓1 |
| 14 | Wesleyan University | 13 | ↓1 |
| 16 | Carleton College | 10 | ↓6 |
| 16 | Davidson College | 13 | ↓3 |
| 16 | Grinnell College | 13 | ↓3 |
| 19 | Barnard College | 13 | ↓6 |
| 19 | Middlebury College | 13 | ↓6 |
| 21 | University of Richmond | 22 | ↑1 |
| 22 | Colby College | 24 | ↑2 |
| 22 | Colgate University | 22 | — |
| 22 | College of the Holy Cross | 27 | ↑5 |
| 22 | Smith College | 13 | ↓9 |
| 26 | Bates College | 24 | ↓2 |
| 26 | Haverford College | 24 | ↓2 |
| 28 | Macalester College | 28 | — |
| 29 | Bucknell University | 30 | ↑1 |
| 30 | Lafayette College | 30 | — |
Major Gainers
- Washington and Lee University: Saw the largest surge in this group, leaping nine spots from No. 21 to No. 12.
- Claremont McKenna College & Pomona College: Both climbed four places from No. 7 to share No. 3.
Notable Slips
- Smith College: Dropped nine places, moving from No. 13 to No. 22.
- Carleton College: Fell six spots, shifting from No. 10 to No. 16.
- Barnard College & Middlebury College: Both slid down six places.
Key Takeaway for Applicants
While these shifts highlight recent trends among top liberal arts colleges, prospective students should look beyond rankings. Factors such as academic programs, campus culture, financial aid, location, and overall fit remain far more critical in choosing the right school. A strong college choice depends on more than a ranking. Academic programs, campus environment, cost, opportunities, and personal fit can all matter.
What Should Families Take From This Year's Rankings?
For families researching colleges, the 2027 U.S. News rankings can be a useful starting point, especially when comparing schools a student is already considering. The first step is simply to look at the numbers. Has a school moved significantly? Is it relatively stable? Have several schools that a student is considering moved in the same direction?
The next step is to look beyond the numbers in ranking charts.
A student’s intended major, academic interests, preferred campus environment, location, financial situation, and career plans can all affect how attractive a college is for that individual student. For U.S. families, factoring in problems with in-state tuition and the actual cost after financial aid can also make a major difference when comparing public and private universities. Some schools, such as Yale, often offer financial aid for families that meet their requirements.
A college does not fundamentally change from No. 20 to No. 25 overnight. A year-to-year ranking change can reflect changes in the school’s data, other institutions’ data, or the ranking methodology itself. The 2027 list is therefore integral to the college research process. The ranking can help families identify schools, notice changes, and start conversations. From there, students can dig into the programs, costs, opportunities, and campus environments that matter most to them.
As students build their college lists, the goal is not simply to find the school with the highest number. It is to understand what each school offers and how well it matches the student’s own academic and personal priorities.
If you are reviewing the 2027 rankings and want help turning them into a more thoughtful U.S. college list, you can contact us for a free consultation. Our counselors can help families look at rankings alongside academic interests, school fit, application strategy, and the student’s individual goals.
