U.S. News & World Report has released its annual rankings of the best colleges and universities in the country, and several schools from the Delaware Valley region have made it to the top spots.
The two main categories of this year’s rankings are National Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges, but the report also includes rankings of the best regional universities and colleges, the best HBCUs, the best public schools, and more.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the publication used up to 17 measures of academic quality to evaluate nearly 1,500 schools, including graduation rates, freshman retention rates, graduation rates and loan debt.
Here’s a look at where some of the top schools in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area ranked in U.S. News’ Best Colleges 2025 rankings.
Best national universities
Princeton University
Princeton University ranks first in the “Best Colleges National Universities 2025” category.
Located about an hour north of Philadelphia in Princeton, New Jersey, the Ivy League university also ranks first among schools with the best value for money.
- Tuition and fees: $62,400
- Acceptance rate: 4%
- Enrollment in undergraduate studies: 5,671
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania ranked 10th on the list of best national universities.
Penn also ranked 17th among the Best Value Schools, but secured the first spot for best undergraduate economics programs.
- Tuition and fees: $68,686
- Acceptance rate: 6%
- Enrollment in undergraduate studies: 9,995
Best liberal arts colleges
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College in Delaware County ranked third among the best liberal arts colleges in the country.
Located about 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia, the small private school offers students the opportunity to take courses at nearby Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College. It also ranked fifth among schools with the best value.
- Tuition and fees: $65,494
- Acceptance rate: 7%
- Enrollment in undergraduate studies: 1,644
Haverford College
Also in Delaware County, Haverford College is ranked 24th on the list of liberal arts colleges.
- Tuition and fees: $70,398
- Acceptance rate: 13%
- Enrollment in undergraduate studies: 1,424
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College itself is an all-girls school, but as the third school in the tri-college consortium with Swarthmore and Haverford, students have the opportunity to study coeducationally off-campus.
Bryn Mawr ranked 29th among the best national liberal arts colleges.
- Tuition and fees: $65,920
- Acceptance rate: 31%
- Enrollment in undergraduate studies: 1,360
Best Regional Universities – North
The College of New Jersey
The College of New Jersey, located in Ewing, New Jersey, just outside Trenton, is the No. 1 ranked regional university in the North. The region consists of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
The school also ranked first among the best public schools.
- In-state tuition and fees: $19,632
- Acceptance rate: 62%
- Enrollment in undergraduate studies: 7,073
St. Joseph’s University
Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia ranked fifth on the list of best regional universities.
St. Joe’s also ranked 20th among the best value schools in the country.
- Tuition and fees: $53,260
- Acceptance rate: 86%
- Enrollment in undergraduate studies: 4,828
