The Elite 35
1. Princeton University*
Location: Mideast (New Jersey); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 5579; Workload: well above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (highest); Endowment per student: $3,750,669; 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 (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 97.6%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Yale, Harvard
2. Stanford University*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 7554; Workload: below average 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 (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 91.9%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 19 (highest); Similar schools: Duke, Rice
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 4571; Workload: above average; 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 (science), low (humanities); Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 3; Similar schools: Caltech, Carnegie Mellon
4. California Institute of Technology
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 1023; Workload: well below average; 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 (science); low (humanities); Graduation rate: 93.2%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: MIT, Harvey Mudd
5. Yale University*
Location: New England (Connecticut); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 6639; Workload: below average; 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 (science); high (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Harvard, Princeton
6. Harvard University
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 7062; Workload: below average; 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 (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 98%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Yale, Princeton
7. Swarthmore College*
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1627; Workload: well above average; 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: very high (science), highest (humanities); Graduation rate: 92.3%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Haverford, Williams
8. University of Chicago
Location: Great Lakes (Illinois); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7473; Workload: well above average; 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: moderate-high (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 4; Similar schools: Johns Hopkins, WashU
9. Williams College
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 2055; Workload: above average Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $1,708,205; Median SATs: 770M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 91.6; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 6.9:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 94.8; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high (science), very high (humanities); Graduation rate: 97%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 2; Similar schools: Amherst, Swarthmore
10. Johns Hopkins University
Location: Mideast (Maryland); Setting: large city; Enrollment: 5618; Workload: below average; 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: 6:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 96 (Fall 2022); Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate-high (science), low (humanities); Graduation rate: 94.6%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 5; Similar schools: UChicago, WashU
11. Rice University
Location: Southwest (Texas); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 4562: Workload: below average; 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 (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Duke, Stanford
12. University of Virginia*
Location: Southeast (Virginia); Setting: Midsize Suburb; Enrollment: 17,275; Workload: below average; 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: low (science); moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.6%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 9; Similar schools: UNC-Chapel Hill
13. Brown University
Location: New England (Rhode Island); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 7273; Workload: well below average; 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: 92; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate; Free speech rating: low; Student to faculty ratio: 5.9:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 92.4; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.7%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Dartmouth
14. Wellesley College*
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 2318; Workload: above average; 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 (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 91.5%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 2; Similar schools: Vassar, Swarthmore
15. Duke University
Location: Southeast (North Carolina); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 6570; Workload: above average; 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 (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 1; Similar schools: Rice, Stanford
16. Vanderbilt University
Location: Southeast (Tennessee); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7143; Workload: above average; Architectural beauty: Yes; Outstanding historical significance: Yes (low); Endowment per student: $786,230; Median SATs: 780M/760V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class: 92.5; Socioeconomic diversity: moderate-high; Free speech rating: moderate; Student to faculty ratio: 7.3:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 93.7; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: low (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 92.7%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 2; Similar schools: Northwestern, Notre Dame
17. Washington University in St. Louis
Location: Plains (Missouri); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 7897; Workload: slightly below average; 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 (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 4; Similar schools: UChicago, Johns Hopkins
18. Amherst College*
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 1907; Workload: well above average; 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 (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 1; Similar schools: Swarthmore, Williams
19. Pomona College*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1699; Workload: well below average; 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 (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 93%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 1.5 (3 shared with Pitzer College); Similar schools: Amherst, Claremont McKenna
20. University of Notre Dame*
Location: Great Lakes (Indiana); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 8917; Workload: average; 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: low (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 5; Similar schools: Northwestern, Vanderbilt
21. Dartmouth College*
Location: New England (New Hampshire); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 4412; Workload: above average; 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 (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Brown
22. Carnegie Mellon University*
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania; Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 7005; Workload: well above average; 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 (science), very low (humanities); Graduation rate: 94.1%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 1; Similar schools: MIT, Caltech
23. Northwestern University
Location: Great Lakes (Illinois); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 8837; Workload: above average; 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: low (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 3; Similar schools: Notre Dame, Vanderbilt
24. Columbia University
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 8902: Workload: well above average; 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-low (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 95%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0.5 (1 shared with Barnard College); Similar schools: Cornell, UPenn
25. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 10,572; Workload: above average; 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: low (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 96.1%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Columbia, Cornell
26. Olin College of Engineering
Location: New England (Massachusetts); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 373; Workload: well below average; 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 (science), moderate-high (humanities); Graduation rate: 94%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: NA
27. Vassar College*
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 2430; Workload: below average; 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 (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 91%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Bowdoin, Wellesley
28. Cornell University
Location: Mideast (New York); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 15,995; Workload: above average; 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: 9.1:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 89.5; Return on investment: high; Rate of producing future PhDs: moderate (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 96%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Columbia, UPenn
29. Bowdoin College*
Location: New England (Maine); Setting: Town; Enrollment: 1909; Workload: below average; 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 (science), moderate (humanities); Graduation rate: 95.3%; Student satisfaction: very high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Vassar, Williams
30. Harvey Mudd College*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 906; Workload: well above average; 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: very high (science), low (humanities); Graduation rate: 92%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0.67 (2 shared with Claremont McKenna and Scripps Colleges); Similar schools: Caltech, Pomona
31. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill*
Location: Southeast (North Carolina); Setting: Small City; Enrollment: 19,921: Workload: average; 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: low (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 91.2%; Student satisfaction: moderate-high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 8; Similar school: Univ. of Virginia
32. University of California-Berkeley*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Midsize City; Enrollment: 31,574; Workload: above average; 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-low (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 93%; Student satisfaction: moderate; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 6; Similar school: UCLA
33. Haverford College*
Location: Mideast (Pennsylvania); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1431; Workload: well below average; Architectural beauty: No; Outstanding historical significance: No; Endowment per student: $497,188; Median SATs: 760M/750V; Percent of students in top tenth of HS class 94.1; Socioeconomic diversity: high; Free speech rating: moderate-low; Student to faculty ratio: 8.8:1; Percent of instructional faculty with doctorate or terminal degree: 94.1; Return on investment: moderate-high; Rate of producing future PhDs: high (science), high (humanities); Graduation rate: 90%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0; Similar schools: Bowdoin, Swarthmore
34. Claremont McKenna College*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large Suburb; Enrollment: 1379; Workload: well below average; 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: very low (science), moderate-low (humanities); Graduation rate: 91.1%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 0.67 (2 shared with Harvey Mudd and Scripps Colleges); Similar schools: Pomona, Bowdoin
35. University of California-Los Angeles*
Location: Far West (California); Setting: Large City; Enrollment: 32,423; Workload: slightly above average; 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: low (science), low (humanities); Graduation rate: 92.7%; Student satisfaction: high; Recent NCAA athletic team titles: 8; Similar schools: UCal-Berkeley