Columbia Earns 5th Spot in US News and World Report 2017 Rankings

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — Columbia University has placed fifth in the latest U.S. News and World Report College Rankings for 2017.

Columbia, which tied with Stanford University, dropped a spot from last year's rankings. Columbia, Stanford and University of Chicago were all tied at No. 4 in the 2016 rankings, with Chicago vaulting up to No. 3 on this year's list.

The list was of course heavy on Ivy League schools, with five in the top 10. Princeton and Harvard took the top two spots for the second straight year, though Yale dropped out of the top 3.

These are the top 10 schools in the country:

1. Princeton University
2. Harvard University
3. University of Chicago
4. Yale University
5. Columbia University
5. Stanford University
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
8. Duke University
8. University of Pennsylvania
10. Johns Hopkins University

Five other New York City schools made the list, with New York University coming in at No. 36, a four-spot drop from last year. Yeshiva University was ranked at No. 66, falling from No. 52 last year. The New School, which ranked No. 127 last year, dropped two spots to 129. St. John's University fell from No. 153 to 164, and Pace University came in at No. 188 after finishing No. 180 in 2016.

All six city schools dropped from last year's rankings.

So, how are the rankings compiled?

U.S. News will release its full methodology Wednesday. But U.S. News Chief Data Strategist Robert Morse told Patch that the publication considers objective factors such as graduation and retention rates.

“College is expensive,” Morse told Patch in an email. “In addition to considering factors like location, cost, course offerings and activities, families should pay close attention to graduation and retention rates.

“These are important indicators of how well a school supports its students academically and financially. The Best Colleges rankings measure academic excellence, and we believe that students and their families should strongly consider academic quality when choosing a college.”

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