Northwestern Holds Steady at No. 12 in 'U.S. News' Rankings

U.S. News and World Report ranked No. 12 in its annual list of top national universities in the country, released today. 

The university has been ranked No. 12 in the nation for the past five years, according to the Daily Northwestern. 

Only one university in Illinois cracked the top 10: University of Chicago, which was ranked No. 4 in a tie with Columbia University in New York City.

“It’s impressive when any school can maintain its position,” U.S. News & World Report director of data research Robert Morse told the Daily. “It proves it’s a top school, that it maintains perspective in admissions, retention and graduation rate, and the alumni care about it.” 

U.S. News and World Report bases its rankings on several factors, including ratings by high school counselors, graduation rate, class size, student-faculty ratio and acceptance rate. 

High school counselors gave Northwestern University an average score of 4.6 out of 5 points on the U.S. News scale. The school has a 94 percent 6-year graduation rate and 75 percent of classes have 20 students or less, according to U.S. News. There are seven students to every faculty member on campus, and in fall 2011, the acceptance rate was 18 percent. 

U.S. News and World Report ranked Harvard University and Princeton University at a tie for No. 1, followed by Yale University at No. 3. For the full list, visit U.S. News and World Report.