Harvard tops rival on best schools list

Published 10:24 pm Thursday, August 21, 2008

Harvard University is the country’s oldest, wealthiest and most selective university. Now it’s back on top of the U.S. News &World Report college rankings, claiming sole possession of the No. 1 spot for the first time in 12 years.

Princeton slips to No. 2, ending eight straight years of at least sharing the top ranking. The latest edition hits newsstands Monday, but was to be published Friday on the magazine’s Web site.

Yale follows at No. 3, and MIT and Stanford tie for fourth. The University of California, Berkeley is the highest-ranked public university, at No. 21 overall. In a separate list for liberal arts colleges, Amherst moves up one spot to tie Williams, its rival just up the road in Massachusetts, for the top spot.

In an e-mailed statement, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesman Robert Mitchell said that “it is always nice to be recognized in this way.”

The ranking formula takes account of factors such as SAT scores, peer reputation, selectivity and alumni giving.

So how did Harvard edge past its Ivy League rival? A comparison of last year’s numbers points to one category where it moved ahead of Princeton — average class size. Harvard reports the percentage of students in classes under 20 students rose from 69 percent to 75 percent since last year’s report.

While U.S. News’ often-criticized but closely followed traditional rankings typically get most of the most attention, they rarely change much from year to year. So the magazine has been adding new lists to keep things interesting.

Debuting this year are rankings identifying “Up and Comers” — innovative institutions that college officials identify as poised to move up in the coming years. Topping that list are George Mason University in Virginia, Clemson in South Carolina, the University of Southern California and Arizona State.