Signing you in

Stanford University secured the No. 1 position with an overall score of 96.36. It scored 95.21 in Student Outcomes, 99.82 in Learning Environment, and 99.75 in Attractiveness.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ranked second, followed by Harvey Mudd College at No. 3. Princeton University ranked fourth, while the University of Michigan, Ann Arbour, and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.

The University of Pennsylvania ranked seventh, followed by Columbia University in the City of New York at No. 8 and Claremont McKenna College at No. 9. Harvard University rounded out the top 10.

TIME, in collaboration with Statista, analysed the highest-performing colleges in the US. To qualify for the ranking, institutions had to be financially solvent, currently active, federally recognised, public or private non-profit institutions, and primarily offer four-year degree programmes.

The ranking assessed colleges across three key indicators: student outcomes, learning environment, and attractiveness. TIME combined scores across these categories to determine each institution’s overall ranking.

As the job market becomes increasingly technology-driven, TIME noted that students are placing greater emphasis on degrees that offer strong returns on investment (ROI) and better prospects of securing well-paying jobs after graduation.

John Friedman, professor of economics and international and public affairs at Brown University, told TIME that higher education recommendations should place greater emphasis on measurable student outcomes and long-term career growth.