Your thoughts on the new Forbes college rankings

[OwenExplorer]

Hey folks! Saw the new Forbes college rankings for 2025, and yep - Princeton snagged the #1 spot again for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, Rice made a surprise leap into the top 10, which honestly caught me off guard

UC Berkeley's still leading the charge among state schools (four years running), and no shocker here - MIT and Stanford are dominating in tech-focused programs as usual.

Here's the full list if you wanna dig into it:
Forbes America's Top Colleges List 2025

But let's talk:

Do you think Princeton really deserves to be #1 again?
And does this list actually reflect what students care about these days?
Any schools you think got snubbed or ranked too high?

Drop your thoughts Curious to hear what everyone thinks!

 

[laurawilson]

honestly? princeton being #1 again feels a bit lazy on forbes’ part lol
like yeah, it’s a great school, but are we just recycling the same top 3 forever? i was lowkey hoping to see some shake-up
also, kinda wild how rice climbed so high, good for them tho
i’m more impressed by how strong some state schools are showing up this year
they don’t get enough love, and yet they’re killing it without the ivy price tag

 

[Alexander Pierce]

Totally agree! Rice jumping up was unexpected but kinda cool. And yeah, the rankings do feel like the same playlist on repeat sometimes

That said, I was actually glad to see a public college like UC Berkeley still holding strong near the top. Not everyone can afford private tuition, so seeing solid options with (relatively) lower costs ranking high gives me hope

 

[Elowen Hale]

If we’re going strictly by the numbers, Princeton being named the best U.S. college by Forbes 2025 rankings kind of makes sense. According to Forbes’ own data, they have a super high graduation rate (98%), median early career salary of $81K, and very low student debt after graduation. Those stats alone probably boosted their score big time.

Also made a quick visual for anyone who wants a snapshot without digging through the whole list:

So yeah, Princeton may not feel flashy, but it checks all the boxes Forbes prioritizes.

 

[LexiNova]

okay but can we talk about how the top 10 is still like 90% schools no one I know could actually afford?
i’m not saying the rankings are useless - the data’s interesting and all, but sometimes it just feels like a flex list for the ultra-privileged
also shoutout to berkeley for holding it down without being a $300k experience. now that’s impressive.

 

[CrimsonRose]

okay but can we talk about how the top 10 is still like 90% schools no one I know could actually afford?
i’m not saying the rankings are useless - the data’s interesting and all, but sometimes it just feels like a flex list for the ultra-privileged
also shoutout to berkeley for holding it down without being a $300k experience. now that’s impressive.

PREACH. Like yeah, I love a good ranking list, but when half the top schools cost more than my entire family’s annual income… it’s giving not my reality

Totally agree - seeing a school like Berkeley up there gives me hope. It proves you don’t need Ivy money to make the top tier. Now if only more public colleges got that kind of spotlight!