These Pennsylvania Schools Are Among America's Very Best, According to U.S. News

PENNSYLVANIA — As colleges in Pennsylvania continue to work through the academic challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, several schools were recognized this week for their steadfast dedication to providing students a quality education.

U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday released its 2022 Best Colleges rankings, which evaluate more than 1,400 U.S. colleges and universities on 17 different academic measures.

To rank colleges, U.S. News first places each school into a category based on its mission and, in some cases, its geographic location. National universities, which focus on research and offer several doctoral programs, are ranked separately from liberal arts colleges. In its regional rankings, U.S. News only compares universities and colleges with other schools in the same group and region.

On the 2022 U.S. News list, 110 Pennsylvania schools were ranked. These Pennsylvania colleges and universities were among those Pennsylvania schools included at the top of this year’s rankings:

National Universities

• University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Ranked #8.
• Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. Ranked #25.
• Lehigh University, Bethlehem. Ranked #49.
• Villanova University, Philadelphia. Ranked #49 (tie).

National Liberal Arts Colleges

• Swarthmore College, Swarthmore. Ranked #3.
• Haverford College, Haverford. Ranked #16.
• Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr. Ranked #30.

Regional Universities (North)

• University of Scranton, Scranton. Ranked #5.
• Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia. Ranked #8.
• Messiah University, Mechanicsburg. Ranked #23.

Regional Colleges (North)

• Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport. Ranked #9.
• Thiel College, Greenville. Ranked #18.
• University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Bradford. Ranked #18.

Data for the 2022 edition of Best Colleges was gathered in the spring and early summer of this year. U.S. News gathered data on student retention, graduation rates, graduate indebtedness, financial resources, alumni giving and more. Colleges were then ranked based on their overall scores. Read more about the 2022 Best Colleges methodology.

U.S. News says the goal of the list is to provide students and their families with the necessary tools to find the right college for them. New this year is the Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs ranking, which looked at more than 690 schools offering Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree programs. See all Pennsylvania schools ranked among 2022’s Best U.S. Colleges.

Princeton University is once again No. 1 among National Universities, and Williams College remains in the top spot among National Liberal Arts Colleges.

For Top Public Schools, the University of California - Los Angeles is No. 1 among National Universities. The United States Naval Academy ranks No. 1 for Top Public Schools among National Liberal Arts Colleges.

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