Best Colleges for Academics
Academic quality and faculty strength
Based on 5,765 community votes
Top 10 Private Colleges for Academics
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
1682
95.2% 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
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
1608
72.7% win
Yale University
New Haven, CT
1607
85.7% win
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
1606
78.9% win
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA
1604
67.7% win
Full Rankings
| Rank | College | Type | ELO | Matches | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton University Princeton, NJ | Private | 1682 | 21 | 95.2% |
| 2 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA | Private | 1661 | 22 | 81.8% |
| 3 | Brown University Providence, RI | Private | 1658 | 20 | 90.0% |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD | Private | 1643 | 13 | 100.0% |
| 5 | Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA | Private | 1641 | 28 | 78.6% |
| 6 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL | Private | 1617 | 21 | 81.0% |
| 7 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA | Private | 1608 | 22 | 72.7% |
| 8 | Yale University New Haven, CT | Private | 1607 | 14 | 85.7% |
| 9 | Williams College Williamstown, MA | Private | 1606 | 19 | 78.9% |
| 10 | Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA | Private | 1604 | 31 | 67.7% |
| 11 | Hamilton College Clinton, NY | Private | 1604 | 13 | 84.6% |
| 12 | Pomona College Claremont, CA | Private | 1600 | 18 | 77.8% |
| 13 | Stanford University Stanford, CA | Private | 1597 | 11 | 81.8% |
| 14 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA | Private | 1592 | 10 | 90.0% |
| 15 | Duke University Durham, NC | Private | 1578 | 8 | 87.5% |
| 16 | Spelman College Atlanta, GA | Private | 1575 | 5 | 100.0% |
| 17 | Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, PA | Private | 1573 | 5 | 100.0% |
| 18 | Davidson College Davidson, NC | Private | 1572 | 33 | 63.6% |
| 19 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA | Private | 1566 | 25 | 64.0% |
| 20 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | Private | 1565 | 15 | 73.3% |
| 21 | Columbia University New York, NY | Private | 1564 | 12 | 75.0% |
| 22 | Middlebury College Middlebury, VT | Private | 1558 | 13 | 69.2% |
| 23 | Emory University Atlanta, GA | Private | 1558 | 15 | 66.7% |
| 24 | Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA | Private | 1554 | 6 | 83.3% |
| 25 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL | Private | 1554 | 11 | 72.7% |
| 26 | Kenyon College Gambier, OH | Private | 1550 | 8 | 75.0% |
| 27 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Private | 1550 | 26 | 61.5% |
| 28 | Dartmouth College Hanover, NH | Private | 1546 | 10 | 70.0% |
| 29 | University of San Diego San Diego, CA | Private | 1545 | 3 | 100.0% |
| 30 | Denison University Granville, OH | Private | 1545 | 5 | 80.0% |
| 31 | Haverford College Haverford, PA | Private | 1544 | 16 | 62.5% |
| 32 | Tulane University New Orleans, LA | Private | 1540 | 17 | 58.8% |
| 33 | Wellesley College Wellesley, MA | Private | 1538 | 5 | 80.0% |
| 34 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY | Private | 1534 | 25 | 60.0% |
| 35 | New York University New York, NY | Private | 1532 | 11 | 63.6% |
| 36 | Macalester College St. Paul, MN | Private | 1531 | 2 | 100.0% |
| 37 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | Private | 1530 | 10 | 70.0% |
| 38 | Barnard College New York, NY | Private | 1529 | 4 | 75.0% |
| 39 | Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH | Private | 1528 | 14 | 57.1% |
| 40 | Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA | Private | 1527 | 8 | 62.5% |
| 41 | Rice University Houston, TX | Private | 1526 | 20 | 60.0% |
| 42 | Amherst College Amherst, MA | Private | 1517 | 23 | 56.5% |
| 43 | Smith College Northampton, MA | Private | 1517 | 18 | 55.6% |
| 44 | Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX | Private | 1517 | 3 | 66.7% |
| 45 | Morehouse College Atlanta, GA | Private | 1517 | 3 | 66.7% |
| 46 | Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA | Private | 1516 | 3 | 66.7% |
| 47 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA | Private | 1515 | 9 | 55.6% |
| 48 | Scripps College Claremont, CA | Private | 1515 | 9 | 55.6% |
| 49 | American University Washington, D.C. | Private | 1514 | 9 | 55.6% |
| 50 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA | Private | 1513 | 23 | 52.2% |
| 51 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC | Private | 1513 | 12 | 58.3% |
| 52 | Colby College Waterville, ME | Private | 1513 | 9 | 55.6% |
| 53 | Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY | Private | 1504 | 14 | 50.0% |
| 54 | Howard University Washington, D.C. | Private | 1503 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 55 | Carleton College Northfield, MN | Private | 1502 | 18 | 50.0% |
| 56 | Dickinson College Carlisle, PA | Private | 1500 | 2 | 50.0% |
| 57 | Georgetown University Washington, D.C. | Private | 1500 | 18 | 50.0% |
| 58 | Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO | Private | 1497 | 16 | 50.0% |
| 59 | Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA | Private | 1496 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 60 | Centre College Danville, KY | Private | 1495 | 8 | 50.0% |
| 61 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA | Private | 1492 | 13 | 46.2% |
| 62 | Occidental College Los Angeles, CA | Private | 1491 | 5 | 40.0% |
| 63 | Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX | Private | 1490 | 21 | 47.6% |
| 64 | Wesleyan University Middletown, CT | Private | 1489 | 17 | 47.1% |
| 65 | DePaul University Chicago, IL | Private | 1488 | 5 | 40.0% |
| 66 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY | Private | 1488 | 18 | 50.0% |
| 67 | Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME | Private | 1487 | 15 | 46.7% |
| 68 | Fordham University Bronx, NY | Private | 1487 | 5 | 40.0% |
| 69 | Union College Schenectady, NY | Private | 1485 | 1 | 0.0% |
| 70 | Lafayette College Easton, PA | Private | 1476 | 8 | 37.5% |
| 71 | Baylor University Waco, TX | Private | 1474 | 4 | 25.0% |
| 72 | Whitman College Walla Walla, WA | Private | 1468 | 2 | 0.0% |
| 73 | Chapman University Orange, CA | Private | 1467 | 9 | 33.3% |
| 74 | Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA | Private | 1466 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 75 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA | Private | 1464 | 17 | 41.2% |
| 76 | Villanova University Villanova, PA | Private | 1461 | 18 | 38.9% |
| 77 | Marquette University Milwaukee, WI | Private | 1460 | 5 | 20.0% |
| 78 | Trinity College Hartford, CT | Private | 1458 | 5 | 20.0% |
| 79 | Oberlin College Oberlin, OH | Private | 1456 | 3 | 0.0% |
| 80 | Grinnell College Grinnell, IA | Private | 1455 | 10 | 30.0% |
| 81 | Colgate University Hamilton, NY | Private | 1454 | 21 | 38.1% |
| 82 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA | Private | 1453 | 5 | 20.0% |
| 83 | Boston University Boston, MA | Private | 1452 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 84 | University of Miami Coral Gables, FL | Private | 1448 | 16 | 37.5% |
| 85 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA | Private | 1443 | 16 | 37.5% |
| 86 | Northeastern University Boston, MA | Private | 1441 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 87 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA | Private | 1441 | 8 | 25.0% |
| 88 | Reed College Portland, OR | Private | 1427 | 7 | 14.3% |
| 89 | Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO | Private | 1425 | 5 | 0.0% |
| 90 | University of Denver Denver, CO | Private | 1425 | 5 | 0.0% |
| 91 | Tufts University Medford, MA | Private | 1405 | 28 | 28.6% |
| 92 | Syracuse University Syracuse, NY | Private | 1398 | 16 | 18.8% |
| 93 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN | Private | 1398 | 20 | 20.0% |
| 94 | University of Rochester Rochester, NY | Private | 1388 | 17 | 17.6% |
| 95 | Pepperdine University Malibu, CA | Private | 1354 | 21 | 14.3% |
| 96 | Bates College Lewiston, ME | Private | 1340 | 16 | 0.0% |