Forbes ranks Stanford University at No. 2 and UC Berkeley at No. 4 in its annual top American colleges list, with both schools moving up one position from last year’s ranking. The recent list ranked 500 schools, comparing which schools provide “the best educational, financial, and career outcomes for all students.” Some factors that quantified these outcomes included if schools’ “students returned after their first year, graduated on time, secured high salaries after graduation and left college with little student debt.” The list especially considered the graduation outcomes of low-income students and rewarded colleges that enrolled higher percentages of low-income students. Princeton University remained at the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row. The list welcomed Rice University for the first time at No. 9. UC Berkeley was the only public university in the top 10. Six historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) also earned six spots in the top 500, doubling the amount from last year. Forbes also released lists on the top public colleges, top private colleges that offer generous financial aid, and top 25 schools that offer the best return on investment. Here’s a look at the top 20 colleges and universities, as ranked by Forbes. RankNameTypeAv. Grant Aid1Princeton UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$59,7922Stanford UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$60,6193Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPrivate not-for-profit$45,5914Yale UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$63,5235University of California, BerkeleyPublic$21,6696Columbia UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$61,0617University of PennsylvaniaPrivate not-for-profit$51,9558Harvard UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$61,8019Rice UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$51,95510Cornell UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$54,21911Northwestern UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$61,71612Johns Hopkins UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$54,40513University of California, Los AngelesPublic$21,76614University of ChicagoPrivate not-for-profit$48,42215Vanderbilt UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$53,93216Dartmouth CollegePrivate not-for-profit$62,29317Williams CollegePrivate not-for-profit$57,12118Brown UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$55,84719Claremont McKenna CollegePrivate not-for-profit$50,02020Duke UniversityPrivate not-for-profit$57,444 Colleges & Universities Sep 24 Find out which schools made US News & World Report's Top 25 ‘Best Colleges' for 2025 San Jose Sep 23 San Jose State University makes massive jump in new college rankings news Oct 18, 2023 This is the best university in the U.S, according to global rankings—it isn't an Ivy League