The Best 10 Colleges That Aren’t the Usual Suspects

In our new ranking of the best colleges in the U.S., the school to take the highest honor (Princeton) isn’t much of a surprise.⁠ But these top schools have admissions rates above 50%.

Sept. 17, 2023
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This year, WSJ took a different approach to its university rankings.

Now, colleges aren’t just rewarded for their raw performance in traditional metrics; rather, they’re also evaluated against a benchmark that shows how the schools improve the trajectories of their students’ careers.

As a result, this year’s ranking surfaced some hidden gems with high admissions rates.

10: Stevens Institute of Technology

This private university in New Jersey took the 36th spot overall in WSJ/College Pulse rankings.

José A. Alvarado Jr. for The Wall Street Journal

9: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

One of the few public universities for this criterion, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign landed the 35th spot overall.

Brian Cassella/TNS/Zuma

8: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The 34th spot on the overall list was this private university in New York state.

Mike Groll/AP

7: University of La Verne

Situated in a Los Angeles suburb, the private University of La Verne placed 33rd in the overall ranking.

Etienne Laurent/EPA/Shutterstock

6. Florida International University

This public university in South Florida ranked 29th overall.

Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg News

5. Lake Forest College

Located in a Chicago suburb, the private Lake Forest College ranked 27th overall.

Lake Forest College

4. Illinois Institute of Technology

Another private university in Illinois, this school took the overall 23rd spot.

Zbigniew Bzdak/TNS/Zuma

3. Brigham Young University

Brigham Young, a private university in Utah, landed the 20th spot overall.

Rick Bowmer/AP

2. New Jersey Institute of Technology

This public university reached the 19th overall spot.

Mattia Pistoia/Inter/Getty

1. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

At 17th overall, Rose-Hulman in Indiana was our highest-ranking university with an admissions rate over 50%.

Caleb Eiler

Produced by:
Matthew Riva

Cover, additional photos:
Etienne Laurent/EPA/Shutterstock
Jeffrey Greenberg/UIG/Getty

See the full overall WSJ/College Pulse ranking and explore other breakdowns focused on student experiences, social mobility and salary impacts.

Read more: What makes a college like Princeton great? and see the top 10 colleges in America overall.

On slide 11, the New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public university. An earlier caption incorrectly said it was private.