Applying to college is a journey that involves finding the right school, submitting applications and then — if you’re lucky — choosing among the acceptance letters and financial aid awards to find that place you’ll call home for the next few years.
To steer you in the right direction, U.S. News surveys colleges and universities each year and ranks nearly 1,400 of them in different categories according to our methodology.
Here, we offer a sneak peek of the 2019 Best Colleges rankings.
These schools — listed alphabetically below — are the top 25 schools in the National Universities category. National Universities emphasize faculty research and offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and doctoral programs. More than 25 schools appear because of ties.
| School name (state) |
| Brown University (RI) |
| California Institute of Technology |
| Carnegie Mellon University (PA) |
| Columbia University (NY) |
| Cornell University (NY) |
| Dartmouth College (NH) |
| Duke University (NC) |
| Emory University (GA) |
| Georgetown University (DC) |
| Harvard University (MA) |
| Johns Hopkins University (MD) |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Northwestern University (IL) |
| Princeton University (NJ) |
| Rice University (TX) |
| Stanford University (CA) |
| University of California–Berkeley |
| University of California–Los Angeles |
| University of Chicago |
| University of Notre Dame (IN) |
| University of Pennsylvania |
| University of Southern California |
| University of Virginia |
| Vanderbilt University (TN) |
| Washington University in St. Louis |
| Yale University (CT) |
The actual Best National Universities rankings of these and other schools will be available Sept. 10, 2018, on usnews.com.
To see full rankings, SAT and ACT scores, scholarship and grant information, graduation rates and more, sign up for the U.S. News College Compass.
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2019 Best Colleges Preview: Top 25 National Universities originally appeared on usnews.com
