10 NJ schools ranked among best colleges; Princeton again tops U.S. News list

For the 12th consecutive year, Princeton University came in at No. 1 in the U.S. News & World Report ranking of the nation’s best colleges with nine other New Jersey schools also making the list.

In all, four Garden State institutions ranked among the top 100 national universities. In addition to Princeton, Rutgers University – New Brunswick came in at No. 55, up from 63rd last year; Stevens Institute of Technology ranked 83rd, the same position as last year; and the New Jersey Institute of Technology ranked 97th, breaking into the top 100 after placing 103rd last year.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked 2nd in this year’s best colleges list. Harvard University, Stanford University and Yale University tied for 3rd, according to U.S. News.

In assembling the rankings, U.S. News evaluates more than 1,500 colleges and universities on 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 the publication. “Guiding that evolution is U.S. News’ mission of providing useful data and information to help with one of life’s biggest decisions.”

New Jersey schools ranked in the U.S. News national universities list

Princeton University: 1

Rutgers University-New Brunswick: 55

Stevens Institute of Technology: 83

New Jersey Institute of Technology: 97

Rutgers University-Newark: 115

Rutgers University-Camden: 127

Seton Hall University: 137

Montclair State University: 182

Stockton State University: 182

Rowan University: 194

Several New Jersey schools again made good showings in more specific categories. Three schools finished among the top 25 regional universities in the north, led by The College of New Jersey at No. 5, up from 6th last year. Monmouth University (18) and Rider University (22) were the others.

Providence College topped the regional-north list.

Among public national universities, Rutgers in New Brunswick ranked 19th—the best showing among New Jersey schools. NJIT was the only other institution to break the top 50, coming in at No. 42.

The University of California, Berkeley earned top honors in the public school category.

Rutgers-Newark and Montclair State University both made the top 25 for social mobility; Rutgers at No. 7 and MSU at 21. According to U.S. News, the social mobility ranking measures which colleges are most successful at enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. The vast majority of these federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000.

Keiser University, a private school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was the top school in the mobility category.