It’s no secret that the United States is home to many of the best universities in the world. Harvard, Princeton and Yale – to name a few – because of their name, courses, awards and teachers from all over the world are the dream of many students looking for an excellent education that allows them an equally high-profile career. What are the best American universities as of 2022? How much does it cost to enroll for a year in these colleges?
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The ranking
An infographic by VisualCapitalist – based on data from US News & World Report – has highlighted which are the 50 best American universities, from the Ivy League to public institutes. At a methodological level, there were several parameters that contributed to the final score:
- Graduation rates = 22%.
- Student academic standing = 20%
- Faculty Resources = 20%
- Financial resources per student = 10%
- Graduation Rate Performance = 8%
- Student selectivity for the autumn entry class = 7%
- Social Mobility = 5%
- Graduate debt = 5%
- Average Alumni Giving Rate = 3%
The top 10 American universities
Ivy League universities are often thought to be the best schools in America, but in reality, only four of the magnificent eight – Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Dartmouth, Pennsylvania – make the top 10.
Admission rates
Among the top 10 schools, admissions are very competitive, with none of the acceptance rates exceeding 7%. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, and Caltech are among the toughest colleges to get into, with only 4 percent of applicants receiving a rousing letter of acceptance. The universities of Illinois and Wisconsin, on the other hand, accept 60% of applicants.
The cost of American education
US tuition fees are notorious for being unaffordable. Combining all federal and private loans in the country, total student debt stands at $1.75 trillion—an average of $28,950. The most expensive school in America is Columbia University, with an admissions fee of a whopping $65,524, with some estimates pointing to even higher rates for the 2022/2023 academic year. The least expensive of the top 50 is the University of Florida, at $6,380 per year, more than 10 times cheaper than Columbia.
