Best Colleges In New Jersey: New U.S. News Rankings

NEW JERSEY – A total of 26 New Jersey colleges were featured on U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 best colleges list that was released on Monday. And the Garden State topped them all by having the number 1 school in the country.

The top-ranked school in the country was Princeton University, but many other New Jersey schools were recognized on the well-respected list (see list below).

The 2020 rankings include the overall best national universities rankings, as well as rankings for the best liberal-arts colleges, the top public schools, the best value schools and more.

For the 2020 rankings, U.S. News & World Report made some changes to help prospective students with their college search. A new set of rankings looks at the top performers in social mobility, evaluating which schools best serve underrepresented students. The 2020 methodology also factors in which schools support first-generation college students through graduation.

Here are the New Jersey schools that made the national university rankings:

• Princeton University, Princeton #1
• Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Piscataway #62
• Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken #74
• New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark #97
• Rutgers University-Newark, Newark #132
• Seton Hall University, South Orange #139
• Montclair State University, Montclair #166
• Rowan University, Glassboro #166
• Rutgers University-Camden, Camden #166

Here are the New Jersey schools that made the liberal arts colleges rankings:

• Drew University Madison NJ National Liberal Arts Colleges #117
• Bloomfield College Bloomfield NJ National Liberal Arts Colleges #164-#215

Here are the New Jersey schools that made the "regional universities north" rankings:

• College of New Jersey, Ewing #4
• Monmouth University, West Long Branch #28
• Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah #32
• Stockton University, Galloway #32
• Rider University, Lawrenceville #38
• Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck #56
• Caldwell University, Caldwell #75
• Saint Peter's University, Jersey City #86
• William Paterson University of New Jersey, Wayne #94
• Georgian Court University, Lakewood #108
• Centenary University, Hackettstown #119
• College of St. Elizabeth, Morristown #129-#170
• Felician University, Lodi #129-#170
• Kean University, Union #129-#170
• New Jersey City University, Jersey City #129-#170

A total of 1,400 colleges are included in the 2020 rankings. The publication says that 90 percent of those reading the best-colleges list are looking for schools outside the top 10. (You can read the full methodology here)

“For more than three decades, we’ve collected and analyzed data on thousands of colleges and
universities across the country and helped put schools on the map,” Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News, said in a news release. “We’ve found the best institutions to be ones committed to academically and financially supporting their students through graduation. They draw in high-quality professors and set students up for postgraduate success.”

Williams College was the top liberal-arts college and the University of California-Los Angeles was the No.1 public school.

Below are the top 5 national universities:

1. Princeton University (NJ)
2. Harvard University (MA)
3. Columbia University (NY) (tie)
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (tie)
3. Yale University (CT) (tie)

Below are the top 3 liberal arts colleges:

1. Williams College (MA)
2. Amherst College (MA)
3. Swarthmore College (PA) (tie)
3. Wellesley College (MA) (tie)

Below are the top 3 public universities:

1. University of California—Los Angeles
2. University of California—Berkeley
3. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor

Read the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 best colleges list here.