These Pa. schools scored the highest in the U.S. News college rankings

The U.S. News Best Colleges rankings for 2022-2023 have been released, and Pennsylvania’s institutions of higher learning have been judged against one another as well as against every college and university in the nation.

The rankings have been scrutinized and drawn a growing amount of criticism over the years, ranging from publications such as Forbes and Vox to an oblique reference earlier this year from the current Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, in which he called such rankings “a joke.”

Among the many complaints against the rankings is that they prioritize exclusivity and prestige over other factors, and that the report relies on information submitted by the colleges themselves without independent verification or oversight. Earlier this year professor at Columbia University disputed the information reported by his own college, saying that the results submitted by Columbia were “inaccurate, dubious or highly misleading.”

So with those notable caveats, here are some of the results from the colleges of Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania school that was highest-ranked among national universities was the University of Pennsylvania, which placed seventh overall and tied with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The private Ivy League school in Philadelphia also ranked 18th in Best School Value based on the U.S. News rankings, and tied for 59th place in Most Innovative Schools.

Next was Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, which came in at 22nd on the overall rankings nationwide. Then came Bethlehem’s Lehigh University and Villanova University in Villanova, both tied at 51st, the University of Pittsburgh in 62nd, and Pennsylvania State University at 77th place.

Here are the Pennsylvania colleges and universities within the top 250 of the national rankings:

University of Pennsylvania: 7th (tie)

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh: 22nd

Lehigh University, Bethlehem: 51st (tie)

Villanova University: 51st (tie)

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh: 62nd

Pennsylvania State University, State College: 77th

Drexel University: 105th

Temple University: 121st

Thomas Jefferson University: 127th

Duquense University, Pittsburgh: 151st

Chatham University, Pittsburgh: 194th (tie)

Robert Morris University, Moon Township: 194th (tie)

La Salle University: 202nd

Misericordia University, Dallas: 219th (tie)

Widener University: 219th (tie)

Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre: 234th

Immaculata University: 250th (tie)

West Chester University of Pennsylvania: 250th (tie)

In a ranking of liberal arts colleges, Swarthmore College in Swarthmore claimed fourth place nationwide, behind Williams, Amherst and Pomona colleges. Haverford College was ranked 18th, Bryn Mawr came in at 31st, Bucknell University at 37th, Franklin & Marshall tied with Lafayette College at 39th and Dickinson College landed at 51st.

Here are the Pennsylvania schools ranked among the top 150 liberal arts colleges:

Swarthmore College: 4th

Haverford College: 18th

Bryn Mawr College: 31st

Bucknell University, Lewisburg: 37th

Franklin & Marshall, Lancaster: 39th (tie)

Lafayette College, Easton: 39th (tie)

Dickinson College, Carlisle: 51st

Gettysburg College, Gettysburg: 61st

Allegheny College, Meadville: 76th (tie)

Muhlenberg College, Allentown: 76th (tie)

Juniata College, Huntingdon: 89th (tie)

Ursinus College: 89th (tie)

Washington & Jefferson College, Washington: 94th

Lycoming College, Williamsport: 111st (tie)

Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove: 111st (tie)

St. Vincent College, Latrobe: 120th

Westminster College, New Wilmington: 124th