How Did US News College Rankings Change in 2025? Full Overview

This year’s college rankings by US News & World Report are officially out! In this blog post, you’ll find out what changed and how to leverage the rankings to your advantage for your college applications.

Top 20 Universities in 2025 According to US News & World Report

Notable Changes to the USN College Rankings from 2024 to 2025

Last year, US News & World Report made dramatic changes to their ranking criteria. The new methodology prioritizes social mobility and related outcomes instead of traditional metrics of status and prestige: test scores, class sizes, and institutional wealth. Many have criticized the new rankings, pointing out that they tend to favor public universities over private ones.

This year, US News & World Report made only slight revisions to their ranking criteria to further emphasize social mobility. The changes are as follows: 

1. They gave more importance to how well schools support students from diverse backgrounds in completing their degrees. 
2. They also removed factors like alumni donations, class size, and high school class rank from the rankings.
3. They removed six-year graduation rates for first-generation students as a ranking metric. Instead, they placed greater weight on two indicators related to the graduation rates of Pell Grant recipients.
4. They removed first-generation-student graduation rate data from its 2025 historically Black universities rankings and the social mobility rankings for national universities.

Changes to the Top 10 National Universities

Notable observations from last year’s rankings to this year include: 

• The top 10 National Universities stayed relatively stable. The top 5 universities on the list remained the same as last year: Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. Stanford dropped one spot from tied for 3rd with MIT to 4th.
• This marks Princeton’s 14th consecutive year as #1.
• Brown University was knocked out of the top 10 and now sits at #13
• UPenn dropped down four ranks to #10
• There is now a four-way tie for #6; Caltech and Duke moved up one rank to be #6, while Johns Hopkins and Northwestern went up by three ranks to also sit at #6.

The remaining schools in the Top 20 for National Universities — ranks 11-20 — experienced small changes but remain in the Top 20. No new schools were added to or dropped from the Top 20 for the year 2025.

Trends in the Top 20 National Universities from 2018-2025

A change in rank from one year to the next does not necessarily indicate a meaningful change for the university. To look at longer-term trends, we need to zoom out a bit.

Over the period from 2018-2025:

• Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale all shifted no more than 3 positions, and they all have remained in the top 5. MIT saw the most mobility, crawling up 3 ranks to sit at #2.
• Caltech has inched up 4 positions to sit at #6. Northwestern and Johns Hopkins have ascended 5 positions each to sit tied at #6 as well.
• UChicago and Columbia dropped a whopping 8 positions 
• UCLA climbed 6 positions from #21 to #15 to be the highest rank public university
• Dartmouth dropped 4 positions to be the lowest-ranked Ivy League university at #15
• Rice and Vanderbilt slipped 4 ranks to be tied at #18, but retain their position in the top 20.
• Notre Dame has remained stable at #18 — the only Top 20 university besides Princeton (#1) that did not change rank at all over the 8-year period.

What the Changes to USN College Rankings Mean for Your Application

As mentioned above, US News & World Report recently overhauled its ranking methodology to prioritize social mobility and related metrics — such as income after graduation.

Given these changes, schools that have improved in rankings over the last two years could be making efforts to increase social mobility, academic support, or post-graduation success. If these qualities are important to you, then a school’s improved ranking could be a sign that it would be a good fit for you. These areas can also be good to focus on when crafting your application. To demonstrate fit, highlight how your own experiences contribute to these factors.

Do Undergraduate University Rankings Still Matter?

College rankings, like those from U.S. News & World Report, still hold a fair amount of influence — but their importance can be a matter of debate.

At Crimson, we see the rankings as a tool to learn general information about universities. Here are some of the ways in which rankings can be useful:

1. Visibility: Rankings give schools visibility. Many students may not know that a given school exists before seeing it on a list of rankings.
2. Prestige: Rankings help shape perceptions. Whether it matters to you or not, many students and employers view top-ranked schools as prestigious. This can contribute to the number of applications a school receives, acceptance rates, alumni donations, and even job prospects.
3. Simplified Comparison: Rankings offer a simple (although incomplete) way to compare hundreds of schools — especially for international students or families who aren’t as familiar with the US higher education system.
4. Benchmark for Resources and Outcomes: Rankings can offer a glimpse into a school’s investment in resources like faculty quality, research, and student support. Metrics like graduation rates, income after graduation, and financial aid offerings can show a school’s level of commitment to student success.
5. Influence on Admissions and Funding: Higher-ranked schools often attract more applications, which allows them to be more selective. Rankings can also impact alumni donations and partnerships.
6. Standardized Measures: Rankings can give you a standardized framework for evaluating different schools based on academic performance, research output, or resources.

We never recommend creating your school list solely based on university rankings. But a rankings list can be a helpful starting point to explore options and narrow down your choices based on specific criteria.

The Potential Downsides of University Rankings

That said, it’s a good idea to use caution when looking at university rankings. Some potentially negative aspects of rankings to be aware of are:

1. Oversimplification: By definition, rankings have to reduce a complex educational experience to a single number. This could never capture everything that’s important about a college — or its fit specifically for you. Factors like campus culture, diversity, or student satisfaction can be difficult to quantify.
2. Methodology Changes: Ranking methodologies can change from year to year. This can cause a school’s rank to fluctuate even without significant changes in its programs.
3. Pressure on Students: Rankings can create undue pressure to attend top-ranked schools or to squeeze themselves into a box that’s not meant for them. Be careful not to overlook institutions that might meet your needs better than a “top ranked” university!

College rankings still matter in shaping perceptions and guiding decisions, but aren’t the whole picture. We recommend factoring in things like personal fit, program strengths, campus environment, and career support when choosing a college.

For more guidance on creating your school list, check out this blog post: Creating The Perfect University List: Learn Your Safety, Target & Reach.

Cross-Yield Ranking: A Better Way to Rank

Given the potential shortcomings of ranking systems used by the likes of US News and Forbes, we at Crimson have developed a straightforward new method that produces less biased and more relevant rankings. We believe this method truly reflects which colleges are the best options for ambitious students.

Learn about cross-yield ranking and see our results here: Redefining College Rankings: The 2023/24 Top 25 US Colleges

Final Thoughts

While college rankings like those from US News & World Report can provide valuable insights, they should be just one piece of the puzzle when deciding where to apply. The most important factor is finding the school that fits you best, both academically and personally.

If you need help building your ideal school list, Crimson’s Academic Advisors can guide you through the process. Our experts have helped thousands of students thoughtfully build their school lists and get into Top 20 universities at 6.75x the rate of those who apply on their own.

Book a free consultation today to get your personalized application strategy!