Academic Excellence 2026
Top academic quality and selectivity
How this ranking is calculated
Measures academic rigor and quality using objective indicators of student preparedness, selectivity, and institutional outcomes.
Source measurement years vary and may precede the ranking edition. The update date records the published dataset, not when every outcome was measured.
See exact overall weights and a worked exampleWhat drives the score
- Admissions selectivity (acceptance rate)
- Average SAT and ACT scores of enrolled students
- First-year student retention rate
- Four- and six-year graduation rates
Data sources
- Federal government enrollment and completion data
- Institutional admissions statistics reported to federal databases
This ranking reflects academic selectivity and rigor, not subjective program quality. A school with very high test score averages and low acceptance rates will score near the top regardless of size or type.
Top 100 academics results
Sorted by College Index's academics score. The displayed list index rescales the leading score to 100; equal rounded scores may have different sequential ranks.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY
Brown University
Providence, RI
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Duke University
Durham, NC
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Rice University
Houston, TX
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Pomona College
Claremont, CA
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME
Amherst College
Amherst, MA
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, CA
Barnard College
New York, NY
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA
Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, MO
Northeastern University
Boston, MA
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
New York University
New York, NY
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Atlanta, GA
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA
Colby College
Waterville, ME
Hamilton College
Clinton, NY
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
Haverford College
Haverford, PA
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT
Carleton College
Northfield, MN
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI
Boston University
Boston, MA
Davidson College
Davidson, NC
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, NY
Babson College
Wellesley, MA
Smith College
Northampton, MA
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA
Bates College
Lewiston, ME
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
University of Richmond
University of Richmond, VA
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale, MI
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA
United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, MD
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
United States Air Force Academy
USAF Academy, CO
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
Macalester College
Saint Paul, MN
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
United States Military Academy
West Point, NY
Scripps College
Claremont, CA
United States Coast Guard Academy
New London, CT
University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA
Colorado College
Colorado Springs, CO
Charter Oak State College
New Britain, CT
Strayer University-Tennessee
Nashville, TN
Strayer University-South Carolina
Greenville, SC
Strayer University-Texas
Farmers Branch, TX
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA
Trinity University
San Antonio, TX
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
Kenyon College
Gambier, OH
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI
Lafayette College
Easton, PA
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
Denison University
Granville, OH
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ
Trinity College
Hartford, CT
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr, PA
Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH
Franklin and Marshall College
Lancaster, PA
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA
Connecticut College
New London, CT