College Rankings

Brag to your friends about what your school does best. Or choose a school based on their position on our rankings for your interests.

Looking for the best schools for journalists? How about most beautiful college campuses?

We heavily research our topics and rank them through relevant criteria that ensure our ranking gives you the most accurate judgment of a school’s ability in a certain area. We start with five criteria that will set the best schools apart from the “eh” schools. Whether it’s how many hours the gym is open that determines the buffest guys out there or the number of history classes that determines the best schools for history majors, these decide which areas the schools have to keep it #awesome in to make the cut.

Before we can narrow the list down to 10 or even 20 schools, we cast a wide net to take into consideration every school–big or small–that matches our criteria. We look at data (IPEDS from the National Center for Education Statistics), read news articles, scour university websites, review course catalogues and speak directly to students.

Each ranking, depending on its criteria, often requires its own unique system to figure out exactly which of the top 20 schools will make it to the top 10. This ain’t no singing competition; you don’t get America’s vote. You can read more about our methodology here.

Once we polish up the ranking and publish, you’ll find them here. Want to own the dancefloor on the best college dancefloor in the country? Find out where that is in our Top 10 Schools for Dance. See yourself as the next Meredith Grey? Our number one is on the opposite coast from Grey Sloan Memorial, but you’ll make it work with at least one of the schools on our Top 10 Schools for Pre-Med Students.

You can literally make or break your college decisions based on College Magazine rankings.

Majors

By the start of freshman year, most students think they need to figure out their major. The truth is, you’ll probably go through two or three different majors by the time you finish your college career. Don’t know what to pick for a major? Find out the best colleges for English majors to bring out the writer in you, or learn about what colleges have the best engineering, marine biology or African American Studies programs. Still can’t decide? It’s okay, we have a ranking for that, too.

Career

Searching for the ideal career that will fit your personality and lifestyle? Sometimes there just isn’t a major for the career you’re looking for, but you still need to pick a school that will help you in achieving your dreams. Whether you want to become a choreographer, an editor or a comedian, these rankings list the schools that will help you get there.

Location

Maybe you like to pick out your school based on location. Whether you want to stay close to home or travel across the country, we ranked schools based on anywhere you might want to be, from sea to shining sea. Make sure you picked the best college in the area by checking out our rankings based on location.

Identity

Here you’ll find schools with groups with which you can identify. Whether you’re an introvert looking to meet quiet friends or trying to become a brother at the most lit fraternity on campus, look no further for tons of info on what schools can help you figure out who you are and what you enjoy—and then you can surround yourself with similar people.