U.S. News & World Report Unveils the 2022 Best Colleges Rankings

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Washington, D.C. – U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, today released the 2022 U.S. News Best Colleges. Now in its 37th year, the rankings evaluate more than 1,400 colleges and universities on up to 17 measures of academic quality.

"Students and faculty continue to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether it's through remote learning, mask-wearing or vaccine requirements," said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News. "As communities work through these challenges, U.S. News is committed to providing information on the academic quality of institutions across the country, so prospective students and their families can make informed decisions throughout their college search."

New in this year's edition of the rankings:

Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs: U.S. News is publishing a brand-new ranking of more than 690 schools with Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree programs. Included were schools with accredited four-year and degree-completion programs that conferred at least 35 degrees in 2018-2019.
Full credit for schools reporting fewer SAT/ACT takers: U.S. News lowered the threshold of submissions necessary for schools to receive full credit for their incoming students' SAT/ACT performance. Now, schools' values used in the rankings are discounted by 15% only if total SAT and ACT scores reported comprise less than 50% of the entering class. Previously, the threshold was 75%.

The threshold change was made to reflect the decline of test submissions in the fall 2020 admissions cycle, which mostly predated the impact of COVID-19. Also, for the second year in a row, U.S. News ranked test-blind schools, meaning those that report not using the SAT or ACT at all in admissions decisions.

Princeton University is No. 1 among National Universities this year, and Williams College is the top school among National Liberal Arts Colleges. For Top Public Schools, the University of California—Los Angeles once again ranks No. 1 among National Universities. And the United States Naval Academy is No. 1 for Top Public Schools among National Liberal Arts Colleges.

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