Love ’em or hate ’em, college rankings have been a mainstay in higher education for decades.
Many universities tout where they land on the annual lists, while some critics say the list unfairly favor certain institutions. Meanwhile, students and parents often rely on them to help determine what school is right for them.
From ranking schools by region and academic major to campus safety and partying, there’s seemingly a ranking system for everything.
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U.S. News & World Report published its 2025 rankings Tuesday, which was also its 40th edition of its rankings, of more than 1,500 four-year colleges and universities nationwide.
The for-profit magazine’s annual rankings have been the target of backlash over the last few years. Critics say the rankings, which began in 1983 and have long been considered the gold standard, are biased toward selective private universities, are too easily manipulated by the schools themselves and fail to capture the breadth of a school’s offerings.
Several universities have publicly stepped away from U.S. News & World Report’s rankings. Columbia University, one of the few undergraduate schools to abstain, said last June that concern about the ranking’s “outsized influence” in the undergraduate admissions process was a major factor in their decision.
“Rankings do not accurately capture the student experience or the priorities of the institution,” the university officials said in a statement, adding: “Much is lost in this approach.”
U.S. News & World Report adjusted its methodology for ranking schools last year, increasing the weight of a schools’ success in graduating students from different backgrounds, and eliminating factors like alumni giving, class size and high school standing.
This year, U.S. News & World Reports made several other changes. One major methodology change came in its national universities rankings with the removal of six-year bachelor’s graduation rates of first-generation students as a ranking factor. That metric replaced by up-weighting two indicators of Pell Grant student graduation “to align with the weights in other ranking categories.”
First-generation-student graduation rate data were also removed from its 2025 historically Black universities rankings and the social mobility rankings for national universities.
“We don’t expect short-term success for this effort,” U.S. News & World Report wrote in its methodology changes. “Today marks the 40th edition of Best Colleges, and we will continue to advocate for more data for the next 40.”
While there were minor changes because of the new algorithm, some things didn’t change. Princeton University yet again claimed the No. 1 spot among national universities, followed by M.I.T in second, and Harvard in third.
How did Ohio schools rank according to U.S. News and World Report?
A number of schools in Greater Columbus and around Ohio found a spot on one of U.S. News and World Report’s lists, including best national universities, best national liberal arts colleges, best historically Black colleges and universities, and best regional universities in the Midwest.
Among Ohio’s national universities, Ohio State University again landed a spot this year in the top 50 best national universities.
Ohio State shared the 41st slot with two other universities: Boston University and Rutgers University.
Ohio’s regional colleges and universities also had a good showing on their respective lists. Ohio Northern University ranked No. 2 for best regional college in the Midwest, and John Carroll University ranked No. 3 for the Midwest’s best regional university.
Here’s how other Ohio colleges and universities ranked this year:
- Ashland University: No. 37 in regional universities Midwest (tie)
- Antioch College: No. 165 in national liberal arts universities (tie)
- Baldwin Wallace University: No. 10 in regional universities Midwest
- Bowling Green State University: No. 273 in national universities (tie)
- Capital University: No. 48 in regional universities Midwest (tie)
- Central State University: No. 62 in HBCUs (tie)
- Cleveland State University: No. 342 in national universities (tie)
- Case Western Reserve University: No. 51 in national universities (tie)
- Denison University: No. 36 in national liberal arts universities (tie)
- Hiram College: No. 9 in regional colleges Midwest (tie)
- John Carroll University: No. 3 in regional universities Midwest
- Kent State University: No. 231 in national universities (tie)
- Kenyon College: No. 45 in national liberal arts universities (tie)
- Marietta College: No. 17 in regional colleges Midwest (tie)
- Miami University: No. 136 in national universities (tie)
- Mount St. Joseph University: No. 342 in national universities (tie)
- Muskingum University: No. 43 in regional universities Midwest (tie)
- Oberlin College: No. 55 in national liberal arts universities (tie)
- Otterbein University: No. 13 in regional universities Midwest
- Ohio Northern University: No. 2 in regional colleges Midwest
- Ohio State University: No. 41 in national universities (tie)
- Ohio University: No. 179 in national universities (tie)
- Ohio Dominican University: No. 91 in regional universities Midwest (tie)
- Ohio Wesleyan University: No. 119 in national liberal arts universities (tie)
- The College of Wooster: No. 77 in national liberal arts universities (tie)
- University of Akron: No. 377 in national universities (tie)
- University of Cincinnati: No. 152 in national universities (tie)
- University of Dayton: No. 136 in national universities (tie)
- University of Findlay: No. 359 in national universities (tie)
- University of Toledo: No. 296 in national universities (tie)
- Walsh University: No. 352 in national universities (tie)
- Wilberforce University: No. 61 in HBCUs (tie)
- Wittenberg University: No. 153 in national liberal arts universities (tie)
- Xavier University: No. 209 in national universities (tie)
- Youngstown State University: No. 98 in regional universities Midwest (tie)
Are there other college rankings?
In response to U.S. News and World Report’s annual best college rankings, a number of other publications have made their own lists. Each uses a slightly different methodology to curate their rankings.
Washington Monthly, for instance, focuses on a school’s contribution to the public good in multiple categories. Niche, a school reviews and ratings website, surveys students for their satisfaction level on a number of topics like campus food and college admissions.
The Wall Street Journal assesses colleges using three main categories: student outcomes, the learning environment and diversity.
The New York Times released its “Build Your Own College Ranking” tool last year, where users can move variables like economic mobility, low net price, athletics, racial diversity and party scene on sliders to create their own best college list.
Forbes ranks using only six factors: academic performance, alumni salary, debt, student satisfaction, on-time graduation rate, and American leaders (based on the website’s database of successful people, from billionaires and public servants).
Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.
shendrix@dispatch.com
@sheridan120