American business magazine Forbes released the 13th annual list of America’s top colleges on its website, on Wednesday.
The University of California, Berkeley, has been
rated the best university in the United States. It’s the first time since the
rankings began in 2008 that a public institution has topped the list.
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Harvard University, which had previously held the
top place, has slipped to No. 7. Stanford University, which has been in the top
three since 2012, is ranked fourth.
Lower-cost public universities have claimed six of
the top 25 spots this year.
The list of top 10 universities is as follows:
1.
University of California, Berkeley
2.
Yale University
3.
Princeton University
4.
Stanford University
5.
Columbia University
6.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
7.
Harvard University
8.
University
of California, Los Angeles
9.
University
of Pennsylvania
10. Northwestern University
Forbes retooled its criteria for its annual list
this year, adopting “a methodology counting low-income student outcomes
and adds a giant federal database to Forbes’ tally of graduate
earnings,” according to a statement from the news company.
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When deciding which 600 four-year colleges make up
the list, the magazine considered alumni salary, student debt, return on
investment, graduation rate, retention rate, and academic achievement.
“The times demand a ranking that accounts for
inclusivity, not exclusivity, and rewarding colleges and universities that are
engines of the American Dream for the many and not a privileged few” stated
Christian Kreznar, assistant editor at Forbes who led Top Colleges this year.
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“After taking
a pandemic pause last year, we decided to revamp our Top Colleges ranking to
better reflect the changing nature of U.S. higher education. A college degree
is still one of the most significant investments people will make in their
lives and our new methodology captures those stakes.”
