40 Pennsylvania Colleges Among Best In USA: Forbes

Names like Harvard, Stanford and Yale predictably topped Forbes’ list. The magazine says that whether a school ranks among the top 10 or is closer to the bottom, the institutions “count as the best in the country.” A total of 40 Pennsylvania schools earned that distinction.

The annual Forbes rankings examine colleges that deliver the best academics, highest salary, and lowest debt.

The Keystone State was led, predictably, by its Ivy League institution. The University of Pennsylvania placed sixth overall on the list, which was led by Harvard University.

Here’s how Pennsylvania colleges were ranked on Forbes’ list:

6. University of Pennsylvania
25. Swarthmore College
37. Carnegie Mellon University
49. Haverford College
57. Lafayette College
67. Lehigh University
72. Villanova University
73. Bucknell University
111. Bryn Mawr College
114. Franklin and Marshall College
117. Pennsylvania State University
120. Dickinson College
138. Gettysburg College
144. University of Pittsburgh
157. Saint Joseph's University
179. Muhlenberg College
226. Muhlenberg College
251. University of Scranton
269. Juniata College
291. Messiah College
294. Duquesne University
296. Ursinus College
299. Temple University
351. Allegheny College
377. La Salle University
378. Lebabon Valley College
381. Grove City College
394. Elizabethtown College
418. West Chester University
437. Washington and Jefferson College
440. Moravian College
453. Susquehanna University
467. Saint Vincent College
516. Westminster College
547. Millersville University
553. Immaculata University
554. Lycoming College
560. King's College
568. Bloomsburg University
617. Indiana University of Pennsylvania

The list comes out just as Money magazine released its ranking of the best value colleges, a list which included 68 colleges. Some notable risers from that list include West Chester (418th here, 179th best value), while Carnegie Mellon dropped from 37th here to 120th best value, and Villanova from 72nd to 179th best value.

The top 10 colleges on Forbes’ list are:

1. Harvard University
2. Stanford University
3. Yale University
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5. Princeton University
6. University of Pennsylvania
7. Brown University
8. California Institute of Technology
9. Duke University
10. Dartmouth College

The methodology behind the rankings looks at five categories: alumni salary, student satisfaction, debt, on-time graduation rate and academic success. (Read more about Forbes’ methodology)