On Monday, U.S. News & World Report released the 2026 edition of its Best Colleges rankings. They are broken up into multiple lists from the colleges with the best value to those in their respective regions.
The “Best National” list looks at schools with a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and doctoral programs, and are committed to producing groundbreaking research. Here’s what we found:
What are the best universities in Georgia?
Emory University in Atlanta ranked No. 24 in national universities, No. 21 in best value schools, and No. 2 in nursing programs. They have an acceptance rate of 10%, a four-year graduation rate of 81%, and 64% of classes with fewer than 20 students.
Georgia Tech in Atlanta ranked No. 32 in national universities, No. 9 in top public schools, No. 3 in analytics, undergraduate engineering programs, and most innovative schools. They have an acceptance rate of 14%, a four-year graduation rate of 64%, and 37% of classes with fewer than 20 students.
University of Georgia in Athens ranked No. 46 in national universities, No. 19 in top public schools, No. 1 in insurance education, and No. 4 in real estate education. They have an acceptance rate of 38%, a four-year graduation rate of 76%, and 46% of classes with fewer than 20 students.
How did US News & World Report pick the best universities?
The 2026 edition of U.S. News’ rankings evaluated more than 1,700 colleges and universities based on up to 17 factors. Some of these include first-year retention rates, debt, standardized tests, and graduation rates. Each factor has a different weight and the school is given an overall score of 100.
What are the best universities in US?
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Princeton University in Princeton, NJ
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Harvard University in Cambridge, MA
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Stanford University in Stanford, CA
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Yale University in New Haven, CT
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia schools in 100 best national universities list by US News
