The Best Colleges and Universities in the Mid-Atlantic

How the region's higher education institutions stack up against the rest of the country and each other

Nassau Hall on the campus of Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) - the #1 ranked university in the country
Photo Credit: Flickr user schizoform

Last week, US News & World Report released the 2015 edition of its annual rankings of the nation's colleges and universities. The Mid-Atlantic had a pretty impressive showing. being home to 7 out of the top 25 'national universities' and 7 out of the top 25 'national liberal arts colleges.' The nation's top-ranked national university, Princeton University, is also located in the Mid-Atlantic. Below are excerpts of the more popular rankings to give a better idea of how the region's schools stacks up against others across the country.

2015 'National University' Rankings (Mid-Atlantic schools in bold)

Rank	School Name	Location
1.	Princeton University	Princeton, NJ
2.	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA
3.	Yale University	New Haven, CT
4. (tie)	Columbia University	New York, NY
4. (tie)	Stanford University	Stanford, CA
4. (tie)	University of Chicago	Chicago, IL
7.	Massachusetts Insitute of Technology	Cambridge, MA
8. (tie)	Duke University	Durham, NC
8. (tie)	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA
10.	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, CA
11.	Dartmouth College	Hanover, NH
12.	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD
13.	Northwestern University	Evanston, IL
14.	Washington University in St. Louis	St. Louis, MO
15.	Cornell University	Ithaca, NY
16. (tie)	Brown University	Providence, RI
16. (tie)	University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, IN
16. (tie)	Vanderbilt University	Nashville, TN
19.	Rice University	Houston, TX
20.	University of California—​Berkeley	Berkeley, CA
21. (tie)	Emory University	Atlanta, GA
21. (tie)	Georgetown University	Washington, D.C.
23. (tie)	University of California—​Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA
23. (tie)	University of Virginia	Charlottesville, VA
25. (tie)	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, PA
25. (tie)	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, CA

Gilman Hall, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) - 12th ranked national university
Photo Credit: Flickr user clio1789

The seven Mid-Atlantic schools in the top 25 'National Liberal Arts Colleges:'

Rank	School Name	Location
3.	Swarthmore College	Swarthmore, PA
8. (tie)	Haverford College	Haverford, PA
11.	Vassar College	Poughkeepsie, NY
13.	United States Naval Academy	Annapolis, MD
15. (tie)	Hamilton College	Clinton, NY
22.	Colgate University	Hamilton, NY
24.	United States Military Academy	West Point, NY

Parrish Hall, Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA) - the #1 ranked liberal arts college in the country

Here's how the Mid-Atlantic's top 'Regional Universities' compare in US News' 'North' region (which also includes New England):

2015 'Regional Universities North' Ranking

Rank	School Name	Location
1.	Villanova University	Villanova, PA
2.	Providence College	Providence, RI
3. (tie)	College of New Jersey	Ewing, NJ
3. (tie)	Fairfield University	Fairfield, CT
3. (tie)	Loyola University Maryland	Baltimore, MD
6.	Bentley University	Waltham, MA
7.	University of Scranton	Scranton, PA
8.	Rochester Institute of Technology	Rochester, NY
9. (tie)	Ithaca College	Ithaca, NY
9. (tie)	Quinnipiac University	Hamden, CT
11. (tie)	Bryant University	Smithfield, RI
11. (tie)	Marist College	Poughkeepsie, NY
11. (tie)	St. Joseph's University	Philadelphia, PA
14. (tie)	Emerson College	Boston, MA
14. (tie)	SUNY—​Geneseo	Geneseo, NY
16.	Simmons College	Boston, MA
17.	Gallaudet University	Washington, DC
18.	Manhattan College	Riverdale, NY
19. (tie)	Le Moyne College	Syracuse, NY
19. (tie)	Mount St. Mary's University	Emmitsburg, MD
19. (tie)	Pratt Institute	Brooklyn, NY
19. (tie)	Rowan University	Glassboro, NJ
23.	Rider University	Lawrenceville, NJ
24.	St. Bonaventure University	St. Bonaventure, NY
25.	CUNY—​Baruch College	New York, NY
25.	SUNY—​New Paltz	New Paltz, NY

Villanova University Campus, (Villanova, PA) - #1 regional university, North region

Of course, it comes as no surprise that the Mid-Atlantic does so well in tertiary education when you consider the fact that the region's residents are very well educated on average. In fact, three of the six Mid-Atlantic states rank in the top 10 states in terms of college educated residents:

Rank	State	Percent of residents 25 years and older with bachelor's degree or higher
1.	Massachusetts	37.8
2.	Colorado	35.5
3.	Maryland	35.2
4.	Connecticut	35.1
5.	New Jersey	34.1
6.	Virginia	33.4
7.	Vermont	32.9
8.	New Hampshire	32.4
9.	New York	31.8
10.	Minnesota	31.2