32 PA Colleges Make New List Of Best Schools In The U.S.

PENNSYLVANIA — More than 30 Pennsylvania colleges and universities are named among the 500 "Best Colleges In The U.S." for 2025, in a newly-released ranking by The Wall Street Journal and College Pulse.

The study ranks these Pennsylvania colleges, and the others on the list, by how well they set graduates up for financial success — and also takes students' overall satisfaction and personal recommendations into account.

"The colleges in this ranking have found many ways to set their students up to succeed," study authors said.

Their study includes a number of well-known schools and some lesser-known campuses, ranking both public and private colleges as well as technical schools and liberal arts institutions. Each school was given a score out of 100, with student outcomes making 70 percent of the score.

The learning environment on campus (20 percent) and the diversity of the student body (10 percent) are also included — with the study taking inclusion of students with lower family earnings and with disabilities into account for the diversity portion.

Within the ranking, colleges are also listed based on student experience, best salaries for recent graduates, social mobility, and best value.

Here are the Pennsylvania colleges on the list, including their overall rank and their score out of 100:

• 13. University of Pennsylvania, 85.1
• 15. Lehigh University, 84.6
• 35. Swarthmore College, 81.6
• 42. St. Joseph's University, 81
• 56. Carnegie Mellon University, 79.7
• 58. Lafayette College, 79.5
• 79. Villanova University, 78.1
• 88. Haverford College, 77.1
• 96. Bucknell University, 76.8
• 110. Franklin and Marshall College, 75.8
• 111. Muhlenberg College, 75.7
• 123. Washington & Jefferson College, 74.8
• 125. University of Scranton, 74.7
• 128. Thomas Jefferson University, 74.5
• 144. Duquesne University, 72.1
• 166. Gettysburg College, 70.4
• 181. Drexel University, 69.2
• 189. Susquehanna University, 68.6
• 192. Dickinson College, 68.4
• 196. Temple University, 67.8
• 211. Elizabethtown College, 66.2
• 215. Cedar Crest College, 66
• 217. St. Francis University, 65.7
• 221. Ursinus College, 65.3
• 270. Lycoming College, 60.9
• 327. Lebanon Valley College, 56.1
• 346. Pennsylvania State University, 54.4
• 353. Juniata College, 53.8
• 379. University of Pittsburgh, 50.6
• 388. Messiah University, 49.6
• 417. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (main campus), 45.2
• 462. Chatham University, 39.2

You can see the entire list, and view the methodology, here.