College Index · Class of 2026
College Index
The definitive College Index ranking — a proprietary composite of academics, value, social life, and more
Stanford University
Stanford, CA · Private Nonprofit
Index
100.0
Academics
98
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ · Private Nonprofit
Index
99.0
Academics
99
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA · Private Nonprofit
Index
96.4
Academics
99
How this ranking is calculated
The College Index is a weighted composite of all other ranking categories, designed to reflect the full student experience — not just prestige or price.
What drives the score
- Academic quality and selectivity (most heavily weighted)
- Post-graduation earnings and return on investment
- Affordability and student debt outcomes
- Campus safety and crime rates
- Athletic program strength
- Social scene and student life
- Campus diversity
- Public interest and reputation
- Weather and climate during the academic year
Data sources
- Federal government education and earnings data
- Federally mandated campus crime disclosures
- National collegiate athletics records
- Social media engagement metrics
- Public search trend data
- Historical climate and meteorological records
Schools must have sufficient data across a majority of categories to receive an overall score. Each component score is normalized to a 0–100 scale relative to all ranked schools before being combined.
Sorted by College Index's composite overall score, normalized 0–100 across all ranked schools.
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
Duke University
Durham, NC
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
New York, NY
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Atlanta, GA
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY
Rice University
Houston, TX
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Yale University
New Haven, CT
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, CA
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Brown University
Providence, RI
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, MO
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Northeastern University
Boston, MA
University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA
University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA
CUNY Hunter College
New York, NY
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
New York University
New York, NY
Babson College
Wellesley, MA
University of Florida-Online
Gainesville, FL
Boston University
Boston, MA
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Texas A&M University-College Station
College Station, TX
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Pomona College
Claremont, CA
Ohio State University-Main Campus
Columbus, OH
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ
University of California-Davis
Davis, CA
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME
Bentley University
Waltham, MA
Barnard College
New York, NY
CUNY Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, NY
Amherst College
Amherst, MA
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA
CUNY City College
New York, NY
Davidson College
Davidson, NC
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX
George Washington University
Washington, DC
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Norman, OK
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO
Colby College
Waterville, ME
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark, NJ
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
New York, NY
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, TX
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT
Lafayette College
Easton, PA
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL
Binghamton University
Vestal, NY
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH