The Elite 35
1. Princeton University*
Location: Mideast (New Jersey); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 5579; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (highest); Endowment per student: $3,750,669 (highest); Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 93 (Fall 2022); Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 87.8; Return on investment: very high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high; Graduation rate: 97.6%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: moderate; Similar schools: Harvard, Yale
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 4571; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $2,086,500; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 97 (Fall 2022); Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 3.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 87.6; Return on investment: very high; Rate of producing future PhDs: very high; Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: high; Similar schools: Caltech, Carnegie Mellon
3. California Institute of Technology
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 1023; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,682,826; Median SATs: 790M/760V(Fall 2020); Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 94.5; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-low; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 3:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 97.8; Return on investment: very high; Rate of producing future PhDs: highest; Graduation rate: 93.2%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: very low; Similar schools: MIT, Harvey Mudd
4. Stanford University*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 7554; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $2,135,335; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 97.8; Socioeconomic diversity: low; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 88.1 (Fall 2022); Return on investment: very high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate; Graduation rate: 91.9%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: very high; Similar schools: Duke, Notre Dame
5. Yale University*
Location: New England (Connecticut); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 6639; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (very high); Endowment per student: $2,714,107; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 96; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.3:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 88.5; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: moderate-low; Similar schools: Harvard, Princeton
6. Harvard University
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 7062; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (highest); Endowment per student: $2,133,974; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 94.4; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: lowest; Student to faculty ratio: 7.2:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 89.4; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 98%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: moderate; Similar schools: Yale, Princeton
7. University of Chicago
Location: Great Lakes (Illinois); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7473; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $590,518; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 97; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-high; Student to faculty ratio: 5:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 97.1; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high; Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Athletic excellence; moderate-high; Similar schools: Johns Hopkins, WashU
8. Johns Hopkins University*
Location: Mideast (Maryland); Setting: large city; Enrollment: 5618; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $593,965; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 100; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 5.9:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 96 (Fall 2022); Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 93.8%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Athletic excellence: very high; Similar schools: UChicago, WashU
9. Williams College*
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 2055; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,708,205; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 88.4; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 6.9:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 96.1; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 93.6%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: high; Similar schools: Amherst, Swarthmore
10. Rice University
Location: Southwest (Texas); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 4562: Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $993,688; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 91.4; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 90.3; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: low; Similar schools: Duke, Vanderbilt
11. Swarthmore College*
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1627; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $1,593,734; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 89; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 7.4:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 92.7; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high; Graduation rate: 92.3%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Athletic excellence: low; Similar schools: Williams, Amherst
12. Duke University
Location: Southeast (North Carolina); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 6570; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $705,638; Median SATs: 790M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 95; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: moderate-high; Student to faculty ratio: 5.7:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 96.3; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: high; Similar schools: Rice, Stanford
13. Washington University in St. Louis
Location: Plains (Missouri); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 7897; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (high); Endowment per student: $797,649; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 89; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-low; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 7.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 80.7; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate; Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: high; Similar schools: UChicago, Johns Hopkins
14. Brown University*
Location: New England (Rhode Island); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 7273; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance; Yes (very high); Endowment per student: $615,612; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 89; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 93.4; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: low; Similar schools: Dartmouth
15. Pomona College*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1699; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,810,914; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 90; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 7.2:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 90.9; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high; Graduation rate: 93%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: moderate-low; Similar schools: Amherst, Claremont McKenna
16. Vanderbilt University*
Location: Southeast (Tennessee); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7143; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $786,230; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 90; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 7.6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 94.2; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low; Graduation rate: 93.5%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: moderate-low; Similar schools: Northwestern, Rice
17. University of Virginia*
Location: Southeast (Virginia); Setting: Midsize Suburb; Enrollment:17,275; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (very high); Endowment per student: $409,030; Median SATs: 750M/730V;Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 84; Socioeconomic diversity: very high; Free speech rating: highest; Student to faculty ratio:14.2:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 94.9; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: medium-low; Graduation rate: 95.6%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: high; Similar schools: UNC-Chapel Hill
18. University of Notre Dame*
Location: Great Lakes (Indiana); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 8917; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,399,873; Median SATs: 770M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 92; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 8.2:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 85.9; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs; moderate-low; Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: high; Similar schools: Northwestern, Stanford
19. Carnegie Mellon University*
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania; Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7005; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $256,224; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 96.8; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-high; Student to faculty ratio: 6.25:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 91.4; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low; Graduation rate: 94.1%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Athletic excellence: moderate-high; Similar schools: MIT, Caltech
20. Amherst College*
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 1907; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $1,858,417; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 93; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 6.85:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 93.8; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: moderate-low; Similar schools: Swarthmore, Williams
21. Olin College of Engineering
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 373; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,065,460; Median SATs: 780M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 80; Socioeconomic diversity: ND; Free speech rating: ND; Student to faculty ratio: 8.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 85.2; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high; Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: NA; Similar schools: NA
22. Wellesley College*
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 2318; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,272,249; Median SATs: 770M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 90; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 7.4:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 93.5; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 91.5%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: very low; Similar schools: Vassar, Swarthmore
23. Dartmouth College*
Location: New England (New Hampshire); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 4412; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $1,234,823; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 93; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-low; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 6.5:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 90.4; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate; Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: very low; Similar schools: Brown
24. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 10,572; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (moderate); Endowment per student: $875,155; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 92; Socioeconomic diversity: low; Free speech rating: very low; Student to faculty ratio: 7.6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 89.3; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low; Graduation rate: 96.1%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: moderate-low; Similar schools: Columbia, Cornell
25. Northwestern University
Location: Great Lakes (Illinois); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 8837; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $686,393; Median SATs: 780M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class:94; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 6.4:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 95; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low; Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Athletic excellence: moderate ; Similar schools: Notre Dame, Vanderbilt
26. Columbia University
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 8902: Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (high); Endowment per student: $477,934; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 94.5; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: lowest; Student to faculty ratio: 6.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 76; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate; Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: low; Similar schools: Cornell, UPenn
27. Bowdoin College*
Location: New England (Maine); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 1909; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,397.968; Median SATs: 770M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 85.1; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 8.7:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 95.8; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate; Graduation rate: 95.3%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: moderate-low; Similar schools: Vassar, Williams
28. Cornell University*
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 15,995; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $385,133; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 85.6; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 8.9:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 89.7; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate; Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Athletic excellence: moderate-low; Similar schools: Columbia, UPenn
29. Harvey Mudd College*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 906; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $497,864; Median SATs: 790M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class 92; Socioeconomic diversity: ND; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 8.4:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 92.2; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high; Graduation rate: 92%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: low; Similar schools: Caltech, Pomona
30. University of California-Berkeley*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 31,574; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $71,929; Median SATs: 720M/690V (Fall 2020); Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 96 (Fall 2020); Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 18.7:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: ND; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate; Graduation rate: 93%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Athletic excellence: high; Similar school: UCLA
31. Vassar College*
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 2430; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (moderate); Endowment per student: $536,712; Median SATs: 750M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 79; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 7.3:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 90.2; Return on investment: moderate-low; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high; Graduation rate: 91%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Athletic excellence: low; Similar schools: Bowdoin, Wellesley
32. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill*
Location: Southeast (North Carolina); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 19,921; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (moderate); Endowment per student: $190,139; Median SATs: 750M/730V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 77; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 14.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 87.5; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low; Graduation rate: 91.2%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Athletic excellence: high; Similar school: Univ. of Virginia
33. Washington and Lee University*
Location: Southeast (Virginia); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 1884; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (very high); Endowment per student: $900,099; Median SATs: 760M/730V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class 81.4; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: moderate-high; Student to faculty ratio: 7.6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 89.7; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low; Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: very high; Athletic excellence: moderate; Similar school: NA
34. University of California-Los Angeles*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 32,423; Architectural beauty: Yes; National Historic Landmarks: 0; Endowment per student: $82,398; Median SATs: 710M/695V (Fall 2020);Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: ND; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 19.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: ND; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low; Graduation rate: 92.7%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: high; Similar schools: UCal-Berkeley
35. Claremont McKenna College*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1379; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $898,167; Median SATs: 780M/750; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 75; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: high; Student to faculty ratio: 7.6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 95.7; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-low; Graduation rate: 91.1%; Student satisfaction: high; Athletic excellence: low; Similar schools: Pomona, Bowdoin