Choosing a college is one of the most significant decisions a student and their family will ever make. As tuition costs rise and the job market becomes more competitive, the value of a four-year bachelor's degree is under greater scrutiny than ever. It's a major investment of time and money, and for millions of Americans, the return on that investment is directly tied to their future career.
While many college rankings focus on factors like academic reputation or student life, they often fail to capture what truly matters to graduates: long-term career success. Recognizing this gap, LinkedIn has released its first-ever Top 50 U.S. Colleges ranking, a list designed to help prospective students identify which schools are most effective at launching graduates into fulfilling and successful careers.
Unlike traditional rankings, this list is built on exclusive LinkedIn data, analyzing the real-world career outcomes of millions of alumni. They've looked at key metrics such as job placement rates, how quickly graduates advance into senior-level positions, and the prevalence of entrepreneurship and C-suite experience among alumni. The ranking also considers the strength of a school's professional network and the percentage of alumni who held an internship during their degree. By focusing on these tangible results, LinkedIn's Top Colleges list provides a powerful new tool for students to make an informed decision about their future.
Here are this year’s 50 Top Colleges in the U.S. — and join the conversation using #LinkedInTopColleges.
1. Princeton University
Location: Princeton, NJ
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $65,210
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,670
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for job placement and entrepreneurship or C-suite experience.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: Development Tools (OCaml, Go, AMPL), Scientific Computing, Web Development
2. Duke University
Location: Durham, NC
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $66,326
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,525
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, N.C.
- Notable Skills: MATLAB, Web Development, AI Engineering
3. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia, PA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $63,204
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 10,500
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: Scientific Computing, Data Science, Industrial Design
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: Cambridge, MA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $64,310
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,535
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for entrepreneurship or C-suite experience, internships and recruiter demand.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Manufacturing, Research Services
- Top Locations: Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, New York City
- Notable Skills: AI Engineering, Robotics, Web Development
5. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, NY
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $48,010 (in-state); $71,266 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 16,130
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Financial Services, Higher Education
- Top Locations: New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Boston
- Notable Skills: Scientific Computing, Aerospace Engineering, Animation
6. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, MA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $59,320
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,100
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for entrepreneurship or C-suite experience.
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services, Technology & Internet
- Top Locations: New York City, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area
- Notable Skills: Data Science, Mathematics, C
7. Babson College
Location: Babson, MA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $58,560
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,800+
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for network strength and entrepreneurship or C-suite experience.
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: Boston, New York City, Miami
- Notable Skills: Data Science, Human Computer Interaction, Entrepreneurship
8. University of Notre Dame
Location: Notre Dame, IN
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $65,025
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,925
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for job placement.
- Top Industries: Business Consulting & Services, Financial Services, Technology & Internet
- Top Locations: Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: Scientific Computing, Economics, Architecture
9. Dartmouth College
Location: Hanover, NH
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $66,123
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,450
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for network strength.
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area
- Notable Skills: MATLAB, SOLIDWORKS, Human Computer Interaction
10. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, CA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $65,127
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,555
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for entrepreneurship or C-suite experience.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Research Services, Financial Services
- Top Locations: San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Los Angeles
- Notable Skills: AI Engineering, MATLAB, Industrial Design
11. Northwestern University
Location: Evanston, IL
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $67,158
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,000
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services, Financial Markets
- Top Locations: Chicago, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area
- Notable Skills: MATLAB, SOLIDWORKS, Human Computer Interaction
12. University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, VA
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $21,123 (in-state); $58,014 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 17,900
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services, Financial Services
- Top Locations: Washington, D.C., New York City, Charlottesville, Va.
- Notable Skills: Stata, Data Science, 3D Modeling
13. Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, TN
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $61,618
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,220
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for network strength.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services, Financial Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Nashville, Tenn., Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: MATLAB, Chemical Engineering, Technical Communication
14. Brown University
Location: Providence, RI
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $71,700
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,270
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area
- Notable Skills: Development Tools (OCaml, Scala, Racket), Economics, AI Engineering
15. Bentley University
Location: Waltham, MA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $63,390
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,350
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for internships and recruiter demand.
- Top Industries: Accounting, Financial Services, Technology & Internet
- Top Locations: Boston, New York City, Hartford, Conn.
- Notable Skills: Data Storage Technologies, Investment Banking, Project Management
16. Tufts University
Location: Medford, MA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $71,982
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,660
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services, Financial Services
- Top Locations: Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: Stata, MATLAB, Animation
17. Lehigh University
Location: Bethlehem, PA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $66,810
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,910
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Accounting, Financial Markets
- Top Locations: New York City, Philadelphia, Boston
- Notable Skills: SOLIDWORKS, Scientific Computing, Scala
18. Columbia University
Location: New York, NY
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $71,170
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 9,750
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: Stata, AI Engineering, Foreign Languages
19. Yale University
Location: New Haven, CT
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $67,250
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,740
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services, Technology & Internet
- Top Locations: New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: Racket (Programming Language), Stata, Foreign Languages
20. Carnegie Mellon University
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $67,020
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,450
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for internships and recruiter demand.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Financial Services, Advertising Services
- Top Locations: San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Pittsburgh
- Notable Skills: Development Tools (SML, Ruby on Rails, C), 3D Modeling, MATLAB
21. Bucknell University
Location: Lewisburg, PA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $69,976
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,920
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for job placement.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Financial Services, Legal Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston
- Notable Skills: Materials Science, MATLAB, Environmental Science
22. Boston College
Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $72,180
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 9,655
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Hospitals & Healthcare
- Top Locations: Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: Stata, OCaml, Applied Psychology
23. Villanova University
Location: Villanova, PA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $69,846
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,700
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Accounting, Hospitals & Healthcare
- Top Locations: New York City, Philadelphia, Boston
- Notable Skills: Scientific Computing, Capital Markets Analysis, Data Science
24. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Location: Champaign, IL
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $18,046 (in-state); $38,398 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 37,140
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for knowledge breadth.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Higher Education, Accounting
- Top Locations: Chicago, San Francisco Bay Area, Urbana, Ill.
- Notable Skills: SystemVerilog, MATLAB, Data Storage Technologies
25. Wake Forest University
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $70,332
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,490
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Legal Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C.
- Notable Skills: Stata, Data Science, Foreign Languages
26. University of Chicago
Location: Chicago, IL
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $71,325
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,540
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services, Technology & Internet
- Top Locations: Chicago, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area
- Notable Skills: Development Tools (Racket, Haskell, SML), Data Science, Public Policy
27. University of Southern California
Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $73,260
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 21,000
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Advertising Services, Media & Telecommunications
- Top Locations: Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, New York City
- Notable Skills: Video Production, Avid Media Composer, Game Development
28. Fairfield University
Location: Fairfield, CT
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $59,460
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,100
- Top Industries: Hospitals & Healthcare, Financial Services, Accounting
- Top Locations: New York City, Boston, Hartford, Conn.
- Notable Skills: AI Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Behavioral Finance
29. Washington and Lee University
Location: Lexington, VA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $66,800
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,885
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for job placement and network strength.
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services, Financial Services
- Top Locations: Washington, D.C., New York City, Atlanta
- Notable Skills: Stata, Data Science, Research
30. University of California-Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, CA
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $16,832 (in-state); $51,032 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 33,070
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Higher Education, Research Services
- Top Locations: San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City
- Notable Skills: Scheme (Programming Language), Data Science, AI Literacy
31. Rice University
Location: Houston, TX
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $66,540
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,800
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Business Consulting & Services, Higher Education
- Top Locations: Houston, San Francisco Bay Area, New York City
- Notable Skills: MATLAB, Engineering Design, Data Science
32. Georgetown University
Location: Georgetown, DC
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $64,896
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,970
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services, Legal Services
- Top Locations: Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston
- Notable Skills: Stata, Policy Research, Government & International Relations
33. Purdue University
Location: West Lafayette, IN
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $9,992 (in-state); $28,794 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 44,170
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for knowledge breadth.
- Top Industries: Manufacturing, Technology & Internet, Higher Education
- Top Locations: Indianapolis, Chicago, Lafayette, Ind.
- Notable Skills: Aerospace Engineering, MATLAB, SOLIDWORKS
34. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $17,736 (in-state); $60,946 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 34,455
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, Medical Practices
- Top Locations: Detroit, New York City, Chicago
- Notable Skills: MATLAB, Manufacturing Operations, Rhino 3D
35. Miami University
Location: Oxford, OH
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $18,162 (in-state); $40,822 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 20,445
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Medical Practices, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: Cincinnati, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio
- Notable Skills: Data Science, Scientific Computing, Advertising
36. Colgate University
Location: Hamilton, NY
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $73,206
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,275
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for network strength.
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Legal Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: Stata, Ruby on Rails, Foreign Languages
37. Southern Methodist University
Location: Dallas, TX
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $61,880
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,285
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services, Technology & Internet
- Top Locations: Dallas, New York City, Los Angeles
- Notable Skills: AMPL, Avid iNews, Data Science
38. Bryant University
Location: Smithfield, RI
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $51,780
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,240
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for internships and recruiter demand.
- Top Industries: Accounting, Financial Services, Insurance
- Top Locations: Boston, New York City, Hartford, Conn.
- Notable Skills: Data Science, AI Engineering, Design Thinking
39. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Location: Worcester, MA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $61,790
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,455
- Top Industries: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, Technology & Internet, Research Services
- Top Locations: Boston, Hartford, Conn., New York City
- Notable Skills: SOLIDWORKS, Robotics, Manufacturing Operations
40. The Pennsylvania State University
Location: University Park, PA
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $20,644 (in-state); $41,790 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 42,225
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for knowledge breadth.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, Medical Practices
- Top Locations: Philadelphia, New York City, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: MATLAB, Architecture, Materials Science
41. California Institute of Technology
Location: Pasadena, CA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $65,622
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 990
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for job placement and internships and recruiter demand.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Research Services, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
- Top Locations: San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City
- Notable Skills: Development Tools (OCaml, Haskell, x86 Assembly), AI Engineering, Robotics
42. Trinity College
Location: Hartford, CT
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $67,650
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,160
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Legal Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Boston, Hartford, Conn.
- Notable Skills: MATLAB, Financial Modeling, Foreign Languages
43. Boston University
Location: Boston, MA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $69,870
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 17,745
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Higher Education, Advertising Services
- Top Locations: Boston, New York City, Los Angeles
- Notable Skills: OCaml, Avid Media Composer, Foreign Languages
44. University of Richmond
Location: Richmond, VA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $67,840
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,055
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Financial Services, Business Consulting & Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va.
- Notable Skills: Data Science, Web Development, Research
45. Stevens Institute of Technology
Location: Hoboken, NJ
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $63,010
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,235
- Top Industries: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, Financial Services, Technology & Internet
- Top Locations: New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C.
- Notable Skills: SOLIDWORKS, Scientific Computing, Aerospace Engineering
46. The University of Texas at Austin
Location: Austin, TX
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $10,858 (in-state); $42,554 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 42,445
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for knowledge breadth.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Medical Practices, Advertising Services
- Top Locations: Austin, Texas, Dallas, Houston
- Notable Skills: SOLIDWORKS, Architecture, Avid Media Composer
47. Indiana University Bloomington
Location: Bloomington, IN
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $12,386 (in-state); $42,728 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 36,835
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Accounting, Higher Education
- Top Locations: Chicago, Indianapolis, Bloomington, Ind.
- Notable Skills: Human Computer Interaction, Foreign Languages, Nonprofit Management
48. Lafayette College
Location: Easton, PA
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $64,496
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,730
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Technology & Internet, Legal Services
- Top Locations: New York City, Philadelphia, Boston
- Notable Skills: Ansys Products, Stata, Data Science
49. Providence College
Location: Providence, RI
- Type: Private
- Tuition: $64,870
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,365
- Top Industries: Financial Services, Accounting, Technology & Internet
- Top Locations: Boston, New York City, Hartford, Conn.
- Notable Skills: FactSet, Health Policy, Foreign Languages
50. University of Wisconsin-Madison
Location: Madison, WI
- Type: Public
- Tuition: $11,606 (in-state); $42,104 (out-of-state)
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 36,900
- Stand Out: Top 5 school for knowledge breadth.
- Top Industries: Technology & Internet, Higher Education, Medical Practices
- Top Locations: Madison, Wis., Chicago, Milwaukee
- Notable Skills: Scientific Computing, SOLIDWORKS
Summary of Top 50
|
Rank |
University Name |
Location |
|
1 |
Princeton University |
Princeton, NJ |
|
2 |
Duke University |
Durham, NC |
|
3 |
University of Pennsylvania |
Philadelphia, PA |
|
4 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Cambridge, MA |
|
5 |
Cornell University |
Ithaca, NY |
|
6 |
Harvard University |
Cambridge, MA |
|
7 |
Babson College |
Babson Park, MA |
|
8 |
University of Notre Dame |
Notre Dame, IN |
|
9 |
Dartmouth College |
Hanover, NH |
|
10 |
Stanford University |
Stanford, CA |
|
11 |
Northwestern University |
Evanston, IL |
|
12 |
University of Virginia |
Charlottesville, VA |
|
13 |
Vanderbilt University |
Nashville, TN |
|
14 |
Brown University |
Providence, RI |
|
15 |
Bentley University |
Waltham, MA |
|
16 |
Tufts University |
Medford, MA |
|
17 |
Lehigh University |
Bethlehem, PA |
|
18 |
Columbia University |
New York, NY |
|
19 |
Yale University |
New Haven, CT |
|
20 |
Carnegie Mellon University |
Pittsburgh, PA |
|
21 |
Bucknell University |
Lewisburg, PA |
|
22 |
Boston College |
Chestnut Hill, MA |
|
23 |
Villanova University |
Villanova, PA |
|
24 |
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
Champaign, IL |
|
25 |
Wake Forest University |
Winston-Salem, NC |
|
26 |
University of Chicago |
Chicago, IL |
|
27 |
University of Southern California |
Los Angeles, CA |
|
28 |
Fairfield University |
Fairfield, CT |
|
29 |
Washington and Lee University |
Lexington, VA |
|
30 |
University of California-Berkeley |
Berkeley, CA |
|
31 |
Rice University |
Houston, TX |
|
32 |
Georgetown University |
Georgetown, DC |
|
33 |
Purdue University |
West Lafayette, IN |
|
34 |
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor |
Ann Arbor, MI |
|
35 |
Miami University |
Oxford, OH |
|
36 |
Colgate University |
Hamilton, NY |
|
37 |
Southern Methodist University |
Dallas, TX |
|
38 |
Bryant University |
Smithfield, RI |
|
39 |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
Worcester, MA |
|
40 |
The Pennsylvania State University |
University Park, PA |
|
41 |
California Institute of Technology |
Pasadena, CA |
|
42 |
Trinity College |
Hartford, CT |
|
43 |
Boston University |
Boston, MA |
|
44 |
University of Richmond |
Richmond, VA |
|
45 |
Stevens Institute of Technology |
Hoboken, NJ |
|
46 |
The University of Texas at Austin |
Austin, TX |
|
47 |
Indiana University Bloomington |
Bloomington, IN |
|
48 |
Lafayette College |
Easton, PA |
|
49 |
Providence College |
Providence, RI |
|
50 |
University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Madison, WI |
