How Do Iowa's Colleges and Universities Compare Nationally?

The University of Iowa climbed, Iowa State University slipped among public university peers and the University of Northern Iowa ranks as the No. 2 regional university in the Midwest, according to the 2012 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges survey.

climbed one spot in the ranking to No. 28 among public universities and is No. 71 overall, which ties it with Michigan State and Virginia Tech, according to the annual list. Still, over the past decade, Iowa has slipped. It wasn't too long ago, Iowa was a top-20 public school.

Among Big Ten schools, Iowa is tied for No. 9 with MSU. Northwestern University, which is a private school, ranks No. 12 nationally and is the top Big Ten school. University of Michigan is the top public Big Ten school.

Iowa State comes in at No. 44 among public schools and No. 97 overall, which ties it with University of California-Riverside, according to the survey. Iowa State fell from No. 41 last year. 

Among Big 12 schools (all nine of them), ISU comes in at No. 5. University of Texas is the highest-ranked Big 12 school.

Grinnell College is listed as the No. 19 liberal arts college in the country.

Drake University is listed as No. 3 among regional universities in the Midwest.

Buena Vista University is listed as the No. 10 regional college in the Midwest. Loras College is No. 13 and Clarke University is No. 18 on this list.

The top public university overall is University of California-Berkeley, according to the survey.

As for the best university in the country, the debate continues --- Harvard or Princeton, Princeton or Harvard. Here are the top universities in the country, according to U.S. News:

#1 Harvard University

#1 Princeton University

#3 Yale University

#4 Columbia University

#5 California Institute of Technology

#5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

#5 Stanford University

#5 University of Chicago

#5 University of Pennsylvania

#10 Duke University