Babson College finished No. 2 in Wall Street Journal‘s 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. ranking. Babson has jumped 124 spots in the last two years. Courtesy photo

Another U.S. college ranking, another first for Princeton University.

Princeton topped Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S ranking, released today (September 5). It’s the second straight year Princeton has been WSJ’s top school — and it continues an impressive winning streak for the private Ivy in New Jersey.

Last week, Princeton also topped Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges ranking — also for the second straight time — and it likewise came first in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 National University ranking, released last fall. If Princeton tops U.S. News’ 2025 ranking, expected to be published in the next couple of weeks, it will achieve repeats on all three of the major college rankings for U.S. schools.

WSJ TOP 10

Princeton topped the WSJ list with an overall score of 92.3. It scored a near-perfect graduation rate score of 99 (out of 100) and a salary impact score of 97. The university’s diversity score of 76 reflects a well-rounded student body, while its learning opportunities and preparation for career scores — 73 and 77, respectively — underscore its commitment to academic rigor and real-world readiness. Princeton’s graduates see a value-added salary boost of over $81,000.

The table below shows the top 10 school’s on WSJ’s 2025 ranking.

1

Princeton University

NJ

Private

92.3

2

Babson College

MA

Private

91.9

3

Stanford University

CA

Private

91.6

4

Yale University

CT

Private

89.3

5

Claremont McKenna College

CA

Private

89.2

6

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MA

Private

87.4

7

Harvard University

MA

Private

86.2

8

University of California, Berkeley

CA

Public

86.1

9

Georgia Institute of Technology

GA

Public

85.8

10

Davidson College

NC

Private

85.6

BABSON COLLEGE RISES 124 SPOTS IN TWO YEARS

Perhaps the biggest story in WSJ’s latest list is the meteoric rise of Babson College.

Last year, Babson, a small private college near Boston, rose 116 spots to break the top 10 after ranking No. 126 in 2023. The large jump was the result of the WSJ putting more focus on value added to student success as a result of their college of choice.

Babson rose another eight spots on the 2025 list, finishing at No. 2 — ahead of Stanford University, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Babson was rewarded for its strong salary impact on its graduates’ careers, earning a perfect 100. It ranked No. 8 overall in the category.

In fact, the Class of 2023 set a record for Babson undergraduates for starting salaries, earning an average of $75,579 a year – 20% higher than the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) projected average for business majors, according to Babson news release. That record-breaking salary beat the previous record set by Babson’s Class of 2022 graduates who earned an average of 14% more than the previous class in their first jobs.

Babson undergrads also posted a 98.6% employment rate.

“At second-ranked Babson, the emphasis on hands-on experiences begins the moment students step on campus as freshmen. Built into the Babson curriculum are opportunities for experiential learning, like the mandatory Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship class, where students launch startups in groups during their first two semesters of college using a loan of up to $3,000 provided by the school,” WSJ writes in its ranking story.

Stephen Spinelli Jr, president Babson College

WSJ also ranked Babson No. 2 for Career Preparation and No. 11 for Student Experience.

“Babson’s recognition as the No. 2 college in the United States by The Wall Street Journal is a remarkable milestone for our community. It’s also a signal that entrepreneurship as an academic discipline has transcended business education,” says Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr.

“At Babson, we go a step beyond by producing entrepreneurial leaders who pioneer new approaches and creative ways of thinking across a broad spectrum of industries and professions. Those leaders and their myriad impacts around the world play a significant role in this historic milestone for Babson, and to a greater extent, for entrepreneurship education as a whole.”

WSJ METHODOLOGY

WSJ’s is the second major ranking of undergraduate universities in the U.S. in as many weeks. Forbes’ list came out last week, and U.S. News’ typically drops mid September.

While neither the Forbes or WSJ rankings focus on undergraduate business schools, many of the top-ranked undergrad business programs are housed in high-ranking universities from both lists. Poets&Quants For Undergrads will publish its annual business school-specific ranking in March 2025.

WSJ has published its college rankings since 2016 along with its research partners College Pulse and Statista. It aims to evaluate how well U.S. colleges and universities prepare students for financial success, focusing on measurable outcomes such as graduation rates and post-graduate earnings.

Last year, it made significant changes to its methodology, eliminating the academic survey on schools’ reputations which rewards big brand schools superior name recognition. It also didn’t reward schools for the amount of money it spends on instruction.

That has led to a significant rise in the rankings for public institutions, with six schools breaking into the top 20, including the University of California at Berkeley, at No. 8, and Georgia Institute of Technology at No. 9. Last year, no public universities were in the top 10 and only two were in the top 20.

WSJ’s ranking is divided into several categories by which students can further narrow down target schools based on their preferences: The full college rankings, Student Experience, Salary Impact, Social Mobility and Best Value.

The following table shows metrics and weights used to calculate the ranking.

Student Outcomes (70%)

Salary Impact

33%

Measures how much a college boosts graduates’ salaries beyond expected levels.

Years to Pay Off Net Price

17%

Combines average net price with value added to graduates’ median salary to estimate how long it takes to pay off education costs.

Graduation Rate Impact

20%

Assesses the college’s success in graduating students compared to expectations based on student demographics.

Learning Environment (20%)

Learning Opportunities

4%

Student satisfaction with faculty interactions, feedback, and teaching quality.

Preparation for Career

4%

Evaluates career networking, advice, and applied learning opportunities.

Learning Facilities

4%

Student satisfaction with libraries, internet, and classrooms.

Recommendation Score

4%

Measures how likely students are to recommend their college to others.

Character Score

4%

Assesses the development of personal qualities like moral courage, resilience, and societal contributions.

Diversity (10%)

Opportunities to Interact with Different Backgrounds

5%

Frequency of student interaction with diverse peers.

Ethnic Diversity

1.70%

Probability of random pairings being from different ethnic backgrounds.

Inclusion of Students with Lower Family Earnings

1.70%

Proportion of Pell Grant recipients.

Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

1.70%

Proportion of students with disabilities.

Contextual Figures

Average Net Price

The annual cost of attendance, factoring in grants and scholarships.

Value Added to Graduate Salary

The difference in earnings attributable to attending the college compared to high school graduates.

See the full ranking methodology here.

THE 100 BEST U.S. COLLEGES BY WSJ

WSJ evaluated 500 U.S. private and public universities. For its full, overall ranking, it scored each school on student outcomes (70% weight), learning environment (20%) and diversity (10%).

It employed one of the largest independent student surveys and combined it with a “rigorous statistical analysis” of government data to calculate its school scores. It also factors cost of attendance (average net price) against student outcomes.

The top 100 schools from WSJ’s 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. are shown in the table below. The full list is available here.

1

Princeton University

NJ

Private

92.3

2

Babson College

MA

Private

91.9

3

Stanford University

CA

Private

91.6

4

Yale University

CT

Private

89.3

5

Claremont McKenna College

CA

Private

89.2

6

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MA

Private

87.4

7

Harvard University

MA

Private

86.2

8

University of California, Berkeley

CA

Public

86.1

9

Georgia Institute of Technology

GA

Public

85.8

10

Davidson College

NC

Private

85.6

11

Bentley University

MA

Private

85.3

12

University of California, Davis

CA

Public

85.3

13

University of Pennsylvania

PA

Private

85.1

14

Columbia University

NY

Private

85

15

Lehigh University

PA

Private

84.6

16

San José State University

CA

Public

84.4

17

University of Notre Dame

IN

Private

84.2

18

University of California, Merced

CA

Public

84

19

Virginia Tech

VA

Public

83.9

20

Harvey Mudd College

CA

Private

83.6

21

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

CA

Public

83.6

22

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

MI

Public

83.5

23

Loyola University Maryland

MD

Private

83.1

24

California State University, Stanislaus

CA

Public

83.1

25

Colgate University

NY

Private

83

26

University of Delaware

DE

Public

82.9

27

Cornell University

NY

Private

82.8

28

Texas A&M University, College Station

TX

Public

82.6

29

Rice University

TX

Private

82.4

30

University of California, San Diego

CA

Public

82.2

31

University of California, Irvine

CA

Public

82

32

Washington University in St. Louis

MO

Private

81.8

33

University of Virginia, Main Campus

VA

Public

81.8

34

Georgetown University

DC

Private

81.7

35

Swarthmore College

PA

Private

81.6

36

Brown University

RI

Private

81.6

37

Augustana College

IL

Private

81.3

38

Santa Clara University

CA

Private

81.3

39

California Institute of Technology

CA

Private

81.2

40

Towson University

MD

Public

81.2

41

University of Texas at Austin

TX

Public

81.1

42

St. Joseph’s University

PA

Private

81

43

University of Detroit Mercy

MI

Private

81

44

Vanderbilt University

TN

Private

80.9

45

Duke University

NC

Private

80.8

46

California State University, San Bernardino

CA

Public

80.5

47

University of San Diego

CA

Private

80.4

48

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

CA

Public

80.4

49

University of Southern California

CA

Private

80.3

50

Washington and Lee University

VA

Private

80.3

51

California State University, Fresno

CA

Public

80.2

52

Manhattan College

NY

Private

80

53

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

IL

Public

79.8

54

Albion College

MI

Private

79.7

55

Marquette University

WI

Private

79.7

56

Carnegie Mellon University

PA

Private

79.7

57

Dartmouth College

NH

Private

79.6

58

Lafayette College

PA

Private

79.5

59

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

NC

Public

79.5

60

Michigan State University

MI

Public

79.5

61

Baruch College, CUNY

NY

Public

79.5

62

Northwestern University

IL

Private

79.5

63

Brigham Young University

UT

Private

79.5

64

Colby College

ME

Private

79.4

65

College of the Holy Cross

MA

Private

79.4

66

San Francisco State University

CA

Public

79.3

67

California State University, Long Beach

CA

Public

79.1

68

University of California, Los Angeles

CA

Public

79

69

Siena College

NY

Private

79

70

James Madison University

VA

Public

79

71

University of Portland

OR

Private

79

72

California State University, Sacramento

CA

Public

78.9

73

University of Wisconsin, Madison

WI

Public

78.7

74

Bryant University

RI

Private

78.7

75

University of Chicago

IL

Private

78.4

76

George Mason University

VA

Public

78.3

77

Florida International University

FL

Public

78.2

78

University of Dayton

OH

Private

78.1

79

Villanova University

PA

Private

78.1

80

University of La Verne

CA

Private

77.9

81

California State University, Northridge

CA

Public

77.8

82

University of Washington

WA

Public

77.7

83

University of Florida

FL

Public

77.7

84

University of Rhode Island

RI

Public

77.5

85

California State University, Fullerton

CA

Public

77.4

86

Wellesley College

MA

Private

77.4

87

University of the Pacific

CA

Private

77.3

88

Haverford College

PA

Private

77.1

89

Ohio Northern University

OH

Private

77

90

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

MA

Private

77

91

Quinnipiac University

CT

Private

77

92

Johns Hopkins University

MD

Private

76.9

93

Clemson University

SC

Public

76.8

94

The College of New Jersey

NJ

Public

76.7

95

California State University, Los Angeles

CA

Public

76.7

96

Bucknell University

PA

Private

76.7

97

California State University, San Marcos

CA

Public

76.5

98

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

IN

Private

76.3

99

University of Connecticut

CT

Public

76.3

100

Boston College

MA

Private

76.3

SCHOOLS RANKED BY STUDENT EXPERIENCE

The WSJ/College Pulse Student Experience ranking looks at the schools where students enjoy waking up to go to class. Student perceptions were measured by an independent survey of verified college students and recent graduates. Seven of the top 20 schools in this category are public.

Scripps College, a private school in California, has the best score in this category at 75.5. It also scored a 68 in community and social life and 83 in diversity. The average net price of attendance is $33,912 with a value added to graduate salaries of $44,706.

See the top 20 schools for student experience in the table below.

1

Scripps College

CA

Private

75.5

2

Harvey Mudd College

CA

Private

75.3

3

Florida International University

FL

Public

74.7

4

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

NY

Private

74.3

5

California Baptist University

CA

Private

73.9

6

Yale University

CT

Private

73.5

7

Pomona College

CA

Private

73.1

8

Oral Roberts University

OK

Private

72.4

9

Princeton University

NJ

Private

71

10

Claremont McKenna College

CA

Private

70.7

11

Babson College

MA

Private

70.6

12

Pitzer College

CA

Private

70.5

13

Amherst College

MA

Private

70.5

14

Alcorn State University

MS

Public

70.3

15

California State University, Fresno

CA

Public

70.2

16

Stanford University

CA

Private

70.2

17

University of Houston, Downtown

TX

Public

70

18

Savannah State University

GA

Public

70

19

Northeastern Illinois University

IL

Public

70

20

Brooklyn College, CUNY

NY

Public

69.8

SCHOOLS RANKED BY SALARY IMPACT

Here, five of the top 20 schools are public institutions, including Georgia Institute of Technology which ranked No. 9 overall.

Still, the Ivies and big brand powerhouses still dominate. Massachusetts Institute of Technology comes out on top with a salary score of 99.3.

The salary impact rating looks at the impact the school has on its graduates’ salaries in relation to the cost of attending. While the schools at the top generally have high price tags, the salaries their graduates earn 10 years later make up for the high cost.

Below, you can see the 20 schools with the highest salary impact from WSJ’s ranking.

1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MA

Private

99.3

2

Stanford University

CA

Private

98.4

3

Princeton University

NJ

Private

97.9

4

Georgia Institute of Technology, Main Campus

GA

Public

97.6

5

University of Pennsylvania

PA

Private

97.4

6

California Institute of Technology

CA

Private

96.6

7

Harvey Mudd College

CA

Private

96.6

8

Babson College

MA

Private

96.2

9

Missouri University of Science and Technology

MO

Public

96

10

Carnegie Mellon University

PA

Private

95.1

11

Claremont McKenna College

CA

Private

94.9

12

Milwaukee School of Engineering

WI

Private

94.7

13

Lehigh University

PA

Private

94.6

14

Bentley University

MA

Private

94.5

15

Michigan Technological University

MI

Public

94.2

16

Colorado School of Mines

CO

Public

94.1

17

San José State University

CA

Public

93.7

18

Yale University

CT

Private

93.5

19

Kettering University

MI

Private

92.8

20

Manhattan College

NY

Private

92.8

SCHOOLS RANKED BY SOCIAL MOBILITY

For social mobility, WSJ looked at how much schools enhance students’ social mobility after graduation. Institutions with the highest proportion of students that come from lower-income families, high graduation rates, high salary impact for graduates, and lower costs do the best in this metric.

Public schools dominate here with 17 of the top 20 spots.

University of California at Merced is the best school for social mobility at 86.8. It scored 83 out of 100 in salary impact and a 96 in graduation rate. It has an average net price of $13,450 with a value added graduate salary of $33,874.

A table with the top 20 schools for social mobility is presented below.

1

University of California, Merced

CA

Public

86.8

2

California State University, Stanislaus

CA

Public

82.1

3

California State University, San Bernardino

CA

Public

81.2

4

California State University, Fresno

CA

Public

80.4

5

California State University, Los Angeles

CA

Public

78.5

6

Florida International University

FL

Public

78.2

7

California State University, Long Beach

CA

Public

77

8

Baruch College, CUNY

NY

Public

76.8

9

California State University, Northridge

CA

Public

76

10

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

CA

Public

75.8

11

California State University, Fullerton

CA

Public

74.9

12

University of California, Riverside

CA

Public

73.1

13

California State University, Sacramento

CA

Public

71.7

14

Fresno Pacific University

CA

Private

69.5

15

Albion College

MI

Private

68.8

16

University of Illinois, Chicago

IL

Public

67.7

17

University of La Verne

CA

Private

66.4

18

Montclair State University

NJ

Public

64.9

19

California State University, San Marcos

CA

Public

64.6

20

San Francisco State University

CA

Public

63.9

SCHOOLS RANKED FOR BEST VALUE

WSJ’s Best Value ranking looks at how quickly the difference between a school’s graduates’ salaries and those of comparable high-school graduates pays back the average net price of four years of study, or “Years to pay off net price.”

Here, Baruch College, CUNY, scored highest here with a perfect 100 for value. It has an average net price of $3,644 with a value added graduate salary of $45,354. Its “years to pay off net price” is three months.

Public schools made up 14 of the top 20 in the category.

1

Baruch College, CUNY

NY

Public

100

2

Hunter College, CUNY

NY

Public

99.9

3

Princeton University

NJ

Private

99.8

4

City College of New York, CUNY

NY

Public

99.7

5

Brooklyn College, CUNY

NY

Public

99.5

6

Stanford University

CA

Private

99.3

7

University of Florida

FL

Public

99.1

8

Queens College, CUNY

NY

Public

99

9

Berea College

KY

Private

98.9

10

California State University, Stanislaus

CA

Public

98.8

11

California Institute of Technology

CA

Private

98.6

12

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MA

Private

98.5

13

Florida State University

FL

Public

98.4

14

California State University, Los Angeles

CA

Public

98.3

15

Georgia Institute of Technology, Main Campus

GA

Public

98.2

16

California State University, Fresno

CA

Public

97.8

17

California State University, Fullerton

CA

Public

97.7

18

Missouri University of Science and Technology

MO

Public

97.5

19

Rice University

TX

Private

97.4

20

University of California, Irvine

CA

Public

97.2

DON’T MISS: POETS&QUANTS’ BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS OF 2024 AND RANKING: THE FORBES 2024-2025 TOP COLLEGES IN AMERICA

The post Wall Street Journal’s 2025 Best Colleges In America appeared first on Poets&Quants.

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