Many high school seniors across the United States are deep in the college application process (and may have been since junior year).
Perhaps, then, this list of some of the best schools in the country could help them more indecisive of them out?
WalletHub recently released a report on the best colleges and universities of 2026. Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, topped the list of the former; Princeton University in New Jersey topped the latter.
Researchers at the publication conducted and published this study by analyzing nearly 800 colleges and universities in the U.S. across seven main dimensions: “Student Selectivity;” “Cost & Financing;” “Faculty Resources;” “Campus Safety;” “Campus Experience;” “Educational Outcomes;” and “Career Outcomes.” Relevant sub-metrics such as “Net Cost” and “Average Class Size” were also taken into account.
“The best college for 2026, and the 19th-best institution overall, is Swarthmore College, an extremely selective school with an admission rate of just seven person, located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania,” the report elaborates further. “For the upcoming school year, 92 percent of enrolled students graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, and their SAT and ACT test scores rank among the best in the country.
“Competitiveness in the classroom isn’t all that makes Swarthmore a top college, though. It also has one faculty member for every eight students, the fifth-best ratio in the country. Giving personalized attention to students contributes to the fourth-highest graduation rate, at 94 percent.”
“In general, universities tend to rank higher than colleges due to their inclusion of graduate-level programs, greater on-campus opportunities and higher earnings for students post-graduation,” adds WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “In fact, the top 10 places for higher education in the U.S. are all universities.
“There are still tons of high-ranking colleges, though, which offer their own advantages like smaller class sizes, more personalized learning and often safer campuses.”
Today in Pa.
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