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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/22\/us\/us-news-college-rankings-princeton-mit.html?emc=edit_nn_20260922&nl=the-morning&segment_id=226865",
    "parsed_content": "AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTPrinceton\u2019s Run Atop U.S. News Rankings Ends After 15 YearsThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology pulled ahead on a set of criteria that are as contentious as they are influential.Listen \u00b7 4:00 min Share full articleThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Mass., is now No. 1, according to U.S. News & World Report.Credit...Sophie Park for The New York TimesBy Alan BlinderSept. 22, 2026Updated 6:39 a.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Princeton University is no longer No. 1.U.S. News & World Report, which had put Princeton atop its college rankings for 15 years, announced Tuesday that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had seized the top spot.How much it matters \u2014 or should \u2014 is contentious since U.S. News, like all publishers of college rankings, relies on an arbitrary, shifting formula to measure schools. But history suggests that the biggest consequence of Princeton\u2019s dip to No. 2 may well be limited to grumbling among alumni.U.S. News said M.I.T. had top showings in metrics related to faculty research, standardized test scores among incoming students and how much students earn after graduation.\u201cPrinceton\u2019s underlying rankings data netted out about the same,\u201d Eric Brooks, U.S. News\u2019s director of education data analysis, said in an email. \u201cBut the gap between Princeton and other universities had narrowed over the past few editions since we added faculty research metrics.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTIn a statement, M.I.T. did not comment directly to its new ranking but said it was \u201cpart of a strong network of excellent colleges and universities across the nation, dedicated to educating students and pursuing curiosity-driven research.\u201dPrinceton declined to comment, though it has not defined its relevance around U.S. News\u2019s lists. Almost five years ago, Princeton\u2019s president, Christopher L. Eisgruber, blistered the college rankings \u201cgame\u201d as \u201ca slightly daft obsession that does harm when colleges, parents, or students take it too seriously.\u201dBut it has been big business for U.S. News, which started its rankings in 1983 and has made millions of dollars by licensing its name and logo to colleges. This year, the publisher said, it ranked more schools than ever.Among national universities, Harvard and Yale held their respective No. 3 and 4 rankings as the California Institute of Technology and Stanford tied for fifth.Private schools took the top 19 places before the University of California\u2019s campuses in Berkeley and Los Angeles tied as the country\u2019s leading public institutions. Williams College held onto its claim as U.S. News\u2019s pick for best national liberal arts college, just like Spelman College retained its top ranking among historically Black schools.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTU.S. News, which last published its newsmagazine in 2010, defends its rankings as a consumer service that draws more than 100 million annual visitors to its website. Surveys suggest, though, that the rankings are not influential as they once were, as students and parents have increasingly easy access to information about schools from other sources.College administrators often privately castigate the rankings as merely one publisher\u2019s subjective view, no matter how enrobed they are in weighted statistics. In some instances, schools have refused to respond to U.S. News\u2019s requests for information.But those surveys, opinions and strategies have not stopped many schools, eager for any edge that could entice students in a stormy era for higher education, from marketing their place in the rankings. U.S. News has acknowledged in the past that it sometimes ranked more schools because more of them \u201cwanted to be paid attention to.\u201dThis year, U.S. News rolled out rankings for undergraduate economics programs and in-state schools it thought offered the best value.The publisher attributed the overall increase in the number of ranked schools to changes to the Carnegie Classification, a system that categorizes schools on the basis of, say, research activity.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-09-22T04:01:05+00:00",
    "author_name": "Alan Blinder",
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    "ai_headline": "Princeton\u2019s Run Atop U.S. News Rankings Ends After 15 Years",
    "ai_simplified_title": "MIT Overtakes Princeton in US News Rankings",
    "ai_excerpt": "The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has seized the top spot in U.S. News & World Report's college rankings, ending Princeton University's 15-year run at No. 1. The shift is based on new criteria, sparking debate over the influence and methodology of such rankings.",
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