U.S. News Names Princeton Country's Best University For 7th Year In A Row

PRINCETON, NJ — For the seventh consecutive year, Princeton University has been named the Best University in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Princeton beat out fellow Ivy League university Harvard in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
U.S. News relies on various factors in determining the rankings, with retention, graduate rate performance and graduation rate accounting for 30 percent of the rankings.

Faculty resources account for 20 percent of the rankings — things like class size, student-to-faculty ratio — and financial resources — average spending on things that go directly toward educating undergraduates — accounts for 10 percent of the rankings. The rest of the rankings are based on expert opinion, student excellence and alumni giving.

In its rankings, U.S. News also took a look at student debt, and it turns out that 70 percent of students who graduate from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., graduate with debt — the average amount of debt being $46,779 — the highest among national universities. Students from Princeton graduate with the least amount of debt among national universities.

On average, 60 percent of full-time undergraduates at Princeton receive some kind of need-based financial aid. The average need-based scholarship or grant award is $47,497.

Princeton’s four-year graduation rate is 89 percent, with a total enrollment of 8,181 students. The student to faculty ratio is 5:1, and 73 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students. Just over 10 percent of classes have 50 or more students.

See related: The Best Colleges In New Jersey, According To U.S.News & World Report

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