Where are the best colleges in the DC region?

There isn’t much changing at the top of this list. Princeton University in New Jersey retained its spot as the best college in the country, according to the U.S. News and World Report 2025 Best Colleges Ranking. MIT came in at No. 2, followed by Harvard University, Stanford University and Yale. There’s not a lot of shifting in this year’s rankings, especially in the top 10, according to LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.