USA TODAY
By Anthony Thompson, Oct. 13, 2026, 1:57 p.m. ET
Choosing a college or university can be a major financial decision, with tuition, housing and other expenses adding up quickly. A new ranking from WalletHub aims to help prospective students and their families compare schools based on academic quality, affordability and the potential benefits of earning a degree.
The personal finance website evaluated 738 higher-education institutions across the country to determine which schools ranked highest for 2027. Its analysis considered factors ranging from admissions and graduation rates to student costs and graduates’ earnings.
Several of the nation’s most recognizable universities landed near the top of the list, while liberal arts colleges also earned high marks. So which schools came out ahead?
Click here to see the article-related photo gallery on USA Today: Best College Campus Rankings (FBS Top Schools 2026)
What are the top 10 universities in 2027?
Here’s a look at 2027’s top 10 universities, per the WalletHub ranking:
- Princeton University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Yale University
- California Institute of Technology
- Harvard University
- Northwestern University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Stanford University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
Princeton ranked first overall in WalletHub’s 2027 rankings. MIT came in second, followed by Yale, Caltech and Harvard.
Princeton’s top ranking comes alongside a 98% graduation rate and a student-to-faculty ratio of one to five, according to the report. WalletHub also found that the median salary for Princeton graduates 10 years after enrollment exceeded $110,The report estimated that Princeton graduates earn about $1.05 million more than people with only a high school diploma over the 20 years following graduation.
Read more: See the top universities and colleges ranked for 2027 – USA TodayContinue/Read Original Article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/10/13/colleges-universities-2027-ranked-wallethub/92232254007/
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