NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Williams College tops Forbes’ annual ranking of America’s Top Colleges for the second consecutive year. Princeton University retains its No. 2 spot on the rankings, which are prepared exclusively for Forbes by the Center for College Affordability & Productivity – with a focus on ‘the things that matter the most to students: quality of teaching, great career prospects, graduation rates and low levels of debt.’ The United States Military Academy edged up to No. 3 from No. 4 in 2010, followed by Amherst College (No. 4) and Stanford University (No. 5). The University of Chicago landed at No. 8, up from No. 20 in 2010; Haverford College moved into the No. 7 spot, up from No. 14 last year.
“Unlike other lists, we pointedly ignore ephemeral measures such as school ‘reputation’ and ill-conceived metrics that reward wasteful spending,” said Forbes Executive Editor Michael Noer. “In short, we try and evaluate the college purchase as a consumer world: Is it worth spending as much as a quarter of a million dollars for this degree?”
In related coverage, available online at www.forbes.com/top-colleges and in the August 22, 2011 issue, Forbes introduces eight young student entrepreneurs who launched their businesses while in college, plus Ernestine Fu, Silicon Valley’s youngest entrepreneur. Forbes features a conversation between them and one of the most famous student entrepreneurs of all time: Michael Dell.
Harvard tops Forbes’ related ranking of best business schools, followed by Stanford, Chicago (Booth), Pennsylvania (Wharton) and Columbia, respectively. Online, the report includes a complete ranking of 650 colleges as well as the top international business schools. The Top 10 colleges according to Forbes are:
| RANK | NAME/STATE |
TOTAL |
UNDERGRAD |
|||||||
| 1 | Williams College, MA | $ | 54,921 | 2,085 | ||||||
| 2 | Princeton University, NJ | $ | 52,715 | 5,113 | ||||||
| 3 | United States Military Academy, NY | $ | 0 | 4,621 | ||||||
| 4 | Amherst College, MA | $ | 54,322 | 1,744 | ||||||
| 5 | Stanford University, CA | $ | 55,918 | 6,602 | ||||||
| 6 | Harvard University, MA | $ | 53,950 | 10,257 | ||||||
| 7 | Haverford College, PA | $ | 55,632 | 1,190 | ||||||
| 8 | University of Chicago, IL | $ | 57,590 | 5,114 | ||||||
| 9 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA | $ | 53,210 | 4,232 | ||||||
| 10 | United States Air Force Academy, CO | $ | 0 | 4,620 | ||||||
For the complete ranking, methodology, videos, and more, visit: www.forbes.com/top-colleges
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