There are so many college ranking systems these days, and there is a lot of disagreement out there. But U.S. News has the oldest and most established list.
For those who still put a lot of weight on college rankings, the U.S. News & World Report 2026 College Rankings are officially out. A lot has been written about the usefulness of such ranking systems, but you can often tell about the general tier of a school from such lists. Much more important than "overall ranking" is where the school ranks in the areas you care about, and not just academically. Still, the list has its uses.
As usual, there are not a lot of surprises—Princeton tops this year's list, with MIT and Harvard right behind. Williams is again chosen as the best liberal arts college, with UC Berkeley, UCLA, and U. Michigan listed as the top public schools.
You can see the full listing here.