Philly-area and South Jersey schools make 2025 U.S. News Best Colleges list

U.S. News & World Report has released its annual ranking of the best colleges and universities in the country, and several Delaware Valley-area schools have landed in the top spots.
The two main categories in this year’s rankings are “National Universities” and “Liberal Arts Colleges,” but the report also includes rankings for the best regional universities and colleges, the top HBCUs, best public schools and more.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the publication used up to 17 measures of academic quality, factors like graduation rates, first-year retention rates, graduation rate performance and borrow debt, to evaluate nearly 1,500 schools.
Here’s a look at where some of the top schools in the Philadelphia area and South Jersey landed in the 2025 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings.
Princeton University is maintaining its spot at #1 in the 2025 Best Colleges National Universities category.
Located about an hour north of Philadelphia in Princeton, New Jersey, the Ivy League school also ranked #1 among Best Value Schools.
The University of Pennsylvania took the #10 spot on the best National Universities list.
Penn also ranked #17 among Best Value Schools, but took the #1 spot for Best Undergraduate Business Programs.
Delaware County’s Swarthmore College ranked #3 among the best Liberal Arts Colleges in the country. Swarthmore replaced the United States Naval Academy at the spot, which was ranked the third best liberal arts college in the 2024 rankings.
The small, private school is located about 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia, and allows students to also take courses at nearby Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College. It also ranked #5 among Best Value Schools.
Also in Delaware County, Haverford College ranked #24 on the Liberal Arts Colleges list.
Bryn Mawr College itself is an all-female school, but as the third school in the Tri-College Consortium with Swarthmore and Haverford, students have co-educational opportunities outside of campus.
Bryn Mawr ranked #29 among the best National Liberal Arts Colleges.
The College of New Jersey, located in Ewing, New Jersey just outside of Trenton, ranked #1 among the Best Regional Universities North. The region consists of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
The school also ranked #1 among the Top Public Schools.
Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia landed at the #5 spot on the Best Regional Universities list.
St. Joe’s also ranked #20 among the Best Value Schools in the nation.
Delaware State University ranked #9 among the Best Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
Delaware State University, located in Dover, Delaware, also ranked #16 among the Most Innovative Schools.
Lincoln University, located near Oxford, Pennsylvania, about an hour outside of Philadelphia, ranked #20 among the Best HBCUs.
Founded in 1854, Lincoln University is the first HBCU to grant degrees to African Americans.
Cheyney University landed at #30 among the Best HBCUs.
Cheyney, located on the border of Chester and Delaware Counties, was founded in 1837 and is the oldest HBCU in the country.