U.S. News & World Report released their 2025 Best Colleges list Tuesday morning, ranking the top colleges and universities throughout the country in various categories for the 40th year running.

To “prioritize social mobility,” the publication says more than 50% of a college’s ranking this year is based on academic and professional success relative to debt and earnings after graduation.

The top three schools remained the same from the previous list, with Princeton University claiming the top spot for the 14th consecutive year. Following Princeton was Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), retaining their second and third rankings, respectively. Stanford University, tied for third last year with MIT, fell to the fourth spot.

Many of the subcategories looked similar or identical to the top spots in 2024. Williams College retained its top spot in the liberal arts college category. While both the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California Berkeley shared the No. 1 spot for public schools in the 2024 rankings, UCLA topped UC Berkeley for the No. 1 spot in the 2025 list.

Spelman College claimed the top spot this year among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) over Howard University.

The rankings have received much criticism over the years based on the formula they use to rank the various colleges and the fact that many institutions paying licensing fees to promote their respective rank, according to The New York Times.

In the same Times report, Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona said the rankings cause “an unhealthy obsession with selectivity.″

Eric Gertler, the executive chairman and CEO of U.S. News & World Report, said that the rankings offer “crucial information to those seeking to make the best decision about their college education,” in a press release accompanying the 2025 list.

Here’s a list of the top 20 universities and top 20 liberal arts colleges from this year’s rankings:

The Top 20 National Universities:

1 – Princeton University (NJ)

2 -Massachusetts Institute of Technology

3 – Harvard University (MA)

4 – Stanford University (CA)

5 – Yale University (CT)

6 – California Institute of Technology – Tie

Duke University (NC) – Tie

Johns Hopkins University (MD) – Tie

Northwestern University (IL) – Tie

10 – University of Pennsylvania

11- Cornell University (NY) – Tie

University of Chicago (IL) – Tie

13 – Brown University (RI) – Tie

Columbia University (NY) – Tie

15 – Dartmouth College (NH) – Tie

University of California, Los Angeles – Tie

17 – University of California, Berkeley

18 – Rice University (TX) – Tie

University of Notre Dame (IN) – Tie

Vanderbilt University (TN) – Tie

The Top 20 National Liberal Arts Colleges:

1 – Williams College (MA)

2 – Amherst College (MA)

3 – Swarthmore College (PA)

4 – United States Naval Academy (MD)

5 – Bowdoin College (ME) – Tie

Pomona College (CA) – Tie

7 – Wellesley College (MA)

8 – Carleton College (MN) – Tie

Claremont McKenna College (CA) – Tie

United States Air Force Academy (CO) – Tie

United States Military Academy at West Point (NY) – Tie

12 – Harvey Mudd College (CA) – Tie

Vassar College (NY) – Tie

14 – Barnard College (NY) – Tie

Davidson College (NC) – Tie

Hamilton College (NY) – Tie

Smith College (MA) – Tie

Wesleyan University (CT) – Tie

19 – Grinnell College (IA) – Tie

Middlebury College (VT) – Tie

Washington and Lee University (VA) – Tie