Best Colleges for Academics
Academic quality and faculty strength
Based on 5,765 community votes
Top 10 Colleges for Academics
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
1682
95.2% win
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA
1674
95.2% win
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
1672
100.0% win
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
1670
91.3% win
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
1661
81.8% win
Brown University
Providence, RI
1658
90.0% win
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
1643
100.0% win
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA
1641
78.6% win
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
1617
81.0% win
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
1608
92.3% win
Full Rankings
| Rank | College | Type | ELO | Matches | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton University Princeton, NJ | Private | 1682 | 21 | 95.2% |
| 2 | Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA | Public | 1674 | 21 | 95.2% |
| 3 | University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA | Public | 1672 | 16 | 100.0% |
| 4 | University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI | Public | 1670 | 23 | 91.3% |
| 5 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA | Private | 1661 | 22 | 81.8% |
| 6 | Brown University Providence, RI | Private | 1658 | 20 | 90.0% |
| 7 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD | Private | 1643 | 13 | 100.0% |
| 8 | Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA | Private | 1641 | 28 | 78.6% |
| 9 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL | Private | 1617 | 21 | 81.0% |
| 10 | University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA | Public | 1608 | 13 | 92.3% |
| 11 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA | Private | 1608 | 22 | 72.7% |
| 12 | Yale University New Haven, CT | Private | 1607 | 14 | 85.7% |
| 13 | Williams College Williamstown, MA | Private | 1606 | 19 | 78.9% |
| 14 | Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA | Private | 1604 | 31 | 67.7% |
| 15 | Hamilton College Clinton, NY | Private | 1604 | 13 | 84.6% |
| 16 | Pomona College Claremont, CA | Private | 1600 | 18 | 77.8% |
| 17 | Stanford University Stanford, CA | Private | 1597 | 11 | 81.8% |
| 18 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA | Private | 1592 | 10 | 90.0% |
| 19 | Duke University Durham, NC | Private | 1578 | 8 | 87.5% |
| 20 | Spelman College Atlanta, GA | Private | 1575 | 5 | 100.0% |
| 21 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL | Public | 1574 | 16 | 68.8% |
| 22 | Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, PA | Private | 1573 | 5 | 100.0% |
| 23 | Ohio State University Columbus, OH | Public | 1573 | 22 | 68.2% |
| 24 | Davidson College Davidson, NC | Private | 1572 | 33 | 63.6% |
| 25 | University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA | Public | 1566 | 10 | 80.0% |
| 26 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA | Private | 1566 | 25 | 64.0% |
| 27 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | Private | 1565 | 15 | 73.3% |
| 28 | Columbia University New York, NY | Private | 1564 | 12 | 75.0% |
| 29 | University of Washington Seattle, WA | Public | 1563 | 26 | 65.4% |
| 30 | Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ | Public | 1559 | 4 | 100.0% |
| 31 | Middlebury College Middlebury, VT | Private | 1558 | 13 | 69.2% |
| 32 | Emory University Atlanta, GA | Private | 1558 | 15 | 66.7% |
| 33 | Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA | Private | 1554 | 6 | 83.3% |
| 34 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL | Private | 1554 | 11 | 72.7% |
| 35 | Kenyon College Gambier, OH | Private | 1550 | 8 | 75.0% |
| 36 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Private | 1550 | 26 | 61.5% |
| 37 | Dartmouth College Hanover, NH | Private | 1546 | 10 | 70.0% |
| 38 | University of San Diego San Diego, CA | Private | 1545 | 3 | 100.0% |
| 39 | Denison University Granville, OH | Private | 1545 | 5 | 80.0% |
| 40 | Haverford College Haverford, PA | Private | 1544 | 16 | 62.5% |
| 41 | University of New Hampshire Durham, NH | Public | 1542 | 5 | 80.0% |
| 42 | Tulane University New Orleans, LA | Private | 1540 | 17 | 58.8% |
| 43 | University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | Public | 1539 | 12 | 66.7% |
| 44 | Wellesley College Wellesley, MA | Private | 1538 | 5 | 80.0% |
| 45 | University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA | Public | 1537 | 14 | 57.1% |
| 46 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY | Private | 1534 | 25 | 60.0% |
| 47 | New York University New York, NY | Private | 1532 | 11 | 63.6% |
| 48 | University of Missouri Columbia, MO | Public | 1532 | 4 | 75.0% |
| 49 | Macalester College St. Paul, MN | Private | 1531 | 2 | 100.0% |
| 50 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | Private | 1530 | 10 | 70.0% |
| 51 | Barnard College New York, NY | Private | 1529 | 4 | 75.0% |
| 52 | Purdue University West Lafayette, IN | Public | 1528 | 10 | 60.0% |
| 53 | Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH | Private | 1528 | 14 | 57.1% |
| 54 | Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA | Private | 1527 | 8 | 62.5% |
| 55 | Rice University Houston, TX | Private | 1526 | 20 | 60.0% |
| 56 | University of California, Riverside Riverside, CA | Public | 1525 | 6 | 66.7% |
| 57 | University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK | Public | 1521 | 5 | 60.0% |
| 58 | Amherst College Amherst, MA | Private | 1517 | 23 | 56.5% |
| 59 | University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA | Public | 1517 | 19 | 52.6% |
| 60 | Smith College Northampton, MA | Private | 1517 | 18 | 55.6% |
| 61 | Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA | Public | 1517 | 3 | 66.7% |
| 62 | Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX | Private | 1517 | 3 | 66.7% |
| 63 | Morehouse College Atlanta, GA | Private | 1517 | 3 | 66.7% |
| 64 | Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA | Private | 1516 | 3 | 66.7% |
| 65 | University of Montana Missoula, MT | Public | 1516 | 1 | 100.0% |
| 66 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA | Private | 1515 | 9 | 55.6% |
| 67 | University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN | Public | 1515 | 24 | 50.0% |
| 68 | Scripps College Claremont, CA | Private | 1515 | 9 | 55.6% |
| 69 | American University Washington, D.C. | Private | 1514 | 9 | 55.6% |
| 70 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA | Private | 1513 | 23 | 52.2% |
| 71 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC | Private | 1513 | 12 | 58.3% |
| 72 | Colby College Waterville, ME | Private | 1513 | 9 | 55.6% |
| 73 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Public | 1513 | 14 | 57.1% |
| 74 | University of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV | Public | 1512 | 7 | 57.1% |
| 75 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA | Public | 1504 | 2 | 50.0% |
| 76 | University of California, Davis Davis, CA | Public | 1504 | 16 | 50.0% |
| 77 | Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY | Private | 1504 | 14 | 50.0% |
| 78 | Iowa State University Ames, IA | Public | 1503 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 79 | Howard University Washington, D.C. | Private | 1503 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 80 | Carleton College Northfield, MN | Private | 1502 | 18 | 50.0% |
| 81 | University of Vermont Burlington, VT | Public | 1502 | 2 | 50.0% |
| 82 | College of William & Mary Williamsburg, VA | Public | 1501 | 14 | 50.0% |
| 83 | Dickinson College Carlisle, PA | Private | 1500 | 2 | 50.0% |
| 84 | University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI | Public | 1500 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 85 | Georgetown University Washington, D.C. | Private | 1500 | 18 | 50.0% |
| 86 | University of Idaho Moscow, ID | Public | 1498 | 2 | 50.0% |
| 87 | University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA | Public | 1498 | 2 | 50.0% |
| 88 | Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO | Private | 1497 | 16 | 50.0% |
| 89 | University of Delaware Newark, DE | Public | 1497 | 26 | 50.0% |
| 90 | Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA | Private | 1496 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 91 | Centre College Danville, KY | Private | 1495 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 92 | University of Kansas Lawrence, KS | Public | 1495 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 93 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA | Private | 1492 | 13 | 46.2% |
| 94 | Occidental College Los Angeles, CA | Private | 1491 | 5 | 40.0% |
| 95 | Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX | Private | 1490 | 21 | 47.6% |
| 96 | Wesleyan University Middletown, CT | Private | 1489 | 17 | 47.1% |
| 97 | University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA | Public | 1489 | 23 | 47.8% |
| 98 | DePaul University Chicago, IL | Private | 1488 | 5 | 40.0% |
| 99 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY | Private | 1488 | 18 | 50.0% |
| 100 | Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME | Private | 1487 | 15 | 46.7% |
| 101 | Fordham University Bronx, NY | Private | 1487 | 5 | 40.0% |
| 102 | University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI | Public | 1487 | 3 | 33.3% |
| 103 | Cal Poly San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | Public | 1486 | 3 | 33.3% |
| 104 | Union College Schenectady, NY | Private | 1485 | 1 | 0.0% |
| 105 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT | Public | 1485 | 3 | 33.3% |
| 106 | University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE | Public | 1484 | 3 | 33.3% |
| 107 | SUNY Buffalo Buffalo, NY | Public | 1482 | 5 | 40.0% |
| 108 | University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND | Public | 1482 | 3 | 33.3% |
| 109 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR | Public | 1480 | 14 | 42.9% |
| 110 | Lafayette College Easton, PA | Private | 1476 | 8 | 37.5% |
| 111 | Baylor University Waco, TX | Private | 1474 | 4 | 25.0% |
| 112 | University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD | Public | 1472 | 10 | 40.0% |
| 113 | Clemson University Clemson, SC | Public | 1472 | 18 | 38.9% |
| 114 | SUNY Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY | Public | 1471 | 6 | 33.3% |
| 115 | University of Maine Orono, ME | Public | 1469 | 8 | 37.5% |
| 116 | Whitman College Walla Walla, WA | Private | 1468 | 2 | 0.0% |
| 117 | University of California, Merced Merced, CA | Public | 1468 | 6 | 33.3% |
| 118 | Chapman University Orange, CA | Private | 1467 | 9 | 33.3% |
| 119 | SUNY Binghamton Binghamton, NY | Public | 1467 | 4 | 25.0% |
| 120 | Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA | Private | 1466 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 121 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA | Private | 1464 | 17 | 41.2% |
| 122 | University of Maryland College Park, MD | Public | 1462 | 16 | 43.8% |
| 123 | Villanova University Villanova, PA | Private | 1461 | 18 | 38.9% |
| 124 | Marquette University Milwaukee, WI | Private | 1460 | 5 | 20.0% |
| 125 | West Virginia University Morgantown, WV | Public | 1459 | 7 | 28.6% |
| 126 | Trinity College Hartford, CT | Private | 1458 | 5 | 20.0% |
| 127 | University of Oklahoma Norman, OK | Public | 1458 | 5 | 20.0% |
| 128 | University of Wyoming Laramie, WY | Public | 1456 | 5 | 20.0% |
| 129 | Oberlin College Oberlin, OH | Private | 1456 | 3 | 0.0% |
| 130 | Grinnell College Grinnell, IA | Private | 1455 | 10 | 30.0% |
| 131 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI | Public | 1455 | 20 | 40.0% |
| 132 | Colgate University Hamilton, NY | Private | 1454 | 21 | 38.1% |
| 133 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA | Private | 1453 | 5 | 20.0% |
| 134 | Boston University Boston, MA | Private | 1452 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 135 | University of Mississippi Oxford, MS | Public | 1450 | 10 | 30.0% |
| 136 | University of Miami Coral Gables, FL | Private | 1448 | 16 | 37.5% |
| 137 | Texas A&M University College Station, TX | Public | 1448 | 15 | 33.3% |
| 138 | University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA | Public | 1447 | 14 | 35.7% |
| 139 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC | Public | 1444 | 15 | 26.7% |
| 140 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA | Private | 1443 | 16 | 37.5% |
| 141 | Northeastern University Boston, MA | Private | 1441 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 142 | University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA | Public | 1441 | 18 | 33.3% |
| 143 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA | Private | 1441 | 8 | 25.0% |
| 144 | Indiana University Bloomington Bloomington, IN | Public | 1438 | 22 | 36.4% |
| 145 | Reed College Portland, OR | Private | 1427 | 7 | 14.3% |
| 146 | Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO | Private | 1425 | 5 | 0.0% |
| 147 | University of Denver Denver, CO | Private | 1425 | 5 | 0.0% |
| 148 | Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA | Public | 1415 | 15 | 26.7% |
| 149 | North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC | Public | 1412 | 21 | 28.6% |
| 150 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT | Public | 1406 | 27 | 29.6% |
| 151 | Tufts University Medford, MA | Private | 1405 | 28 | 28.6% |
| 152 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY | Public | 1404 | 10 | 10.0% |
| 153 | Syracuse University Syracuse, NY | Private | 1398 | 16 | 18.8% |
| 154 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN | Private | 1398 | 20 | 20.0% |
| 155 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI | Public | 1398 | 23 | 26.1% |
| 156 | University of South Carolina Columbia, SC | Public | 1398 | 13 | 15.4% |
| 157 | Arizona State University Tempe, AZ | Public | 1398 | 11 | 9.1% |
| 158 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ | Public | 1392 | 8 | 0.0% |
| 159 | University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN | Public | 1391 | 13 | 7.7% |
| 160 | University of Rochester Rochester, NY | Private | 1388 | 17 | 17.6% |
| 161 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | Public | 1388 | 20 | 20.0% |
| 162 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA | Public | 1387 | 23 | 21.7% |
| 163 | Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA | Public | 1371 | 29 | 20.7% |
| 164 | University of Oregon Eugene, OR | Public | 1362 | 15 | 13.3% |
| 165 | Auburn University Auburn, AL | Public | 1360 | 43 | 20.9% |
| 166 | University of Georgia Athens, GA | Public | 1356 | 15 | 6.7% |
| 167 | Pepperdine University Malibu, CA | Private | 1354 | 21 | 14.3% |
| 168 | Bates College Lewiston, ME | Private | 1340 | 16 | 0.0% |
| 169 | University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL | Public | 1340 | 15 | 0.0% |