Many publications release school rankings, but opinions vary on what makes an institution a top university.
The Forbes ranking of top colleges differs from many other college rankings in that it doesn't consider "input" statistics, such as SAT scores and acceptance rates. Instead, Forbes ranks schools according to a composite score made up of alumni salary (20 percent), student debt (20 percent), student experience (20 percent), alumni professional accomplishments (15 percent), academic success (12.5 percent) and graduation rate (12.5 percent).
Here are the 10 top colleges in the U.S., according to Forbes:
10. Duke University
State: North Carolina
Cost: $71,764
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $47,055
9. Dartmouth College
State: New Hampshire
Cost: $71,827
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $45,867
8. Brown University
State: Rhode Island
Cost: $71,050
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $40,116
7. University of Pennsylvania
State: Pennsylvania
Cost: $71,715
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $43,856
6. California Institute of Technology
State: California
Cost: $68,901
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $36,632
5. Princeton University
State: New Jersey
Cost: $66,150
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $44,128
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
State: Massachusetts
Cost: $67,430
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $41,674
3. Stanford University
State: California
Cost: $69,109
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $47,782
2. Yale University
State: Connecticut
Cost: $71,290
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $48,126
1. Harvard University
State: Massachusetts
Cost: $69,600
Type: Private not-for-profit
Average financial aid: $48,195
Harvard topped the Forbes' list and five other Ivy League schools also cracked the top 10. Columbia and Cornell were the only Ivy League schools not to make it into this bracket, coming in 13th and 15th, respectively.
The remaining entries on the list include prestigious schools like Stanford and Duke, as well as two technology-focused institutions — MIT and CalTech.
All of the schools in the top 10 are private not-for-profit institutions. The University of California, Berkeley came in 14th this year, the highest ranking for a public university in the history of the Forbes list.
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