Forbes ranks Stanford University at No. 2 and UC Berkeley at No. 4 in its annual top American colleges list, with both schools moving up one position from last year's ranking.
The recent list ranked 500 schools, comparing which schools provide "the best educational, financial, and career outcomes for all students."
Some factors that quantified these outcomes included if schools' "students returned after their first year, graduated on time, secured high salaries after graduation and left college with little student debt." The list especially considered the graduation outcomes of low-income students and rewarded colleges that enrolled higher percentages of low-income students.
Princeton University remained at the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row. The list welcomed Rice University for the first time at No. 9. UC Berkeley was the only public university in the top 10.
Six historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) also earned six spots in the top 500, doubling the amount from last year.
Forbes also released lists on the top public colleges, top private colleges that offer generous financial aid, and top 25 schools that offer the best return on investment.
Here's a look at the top 20 colleges and universities, as ranked by Forbes.
| Rank | Name | Type | Av. Grant Aid |
| 1 | Princeton University | Private not-for-profit | $59,792 |
| 2 | Stanford University | Private not-for-profit | $60,619 |
| 3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Private not-for-profit | $45,591 |
| 4 | Yale University | Private not-for-profit | $63,523 |
| 5 | University of California, Berkeley | Public | $21,669 |
| 6 | Columbia University | Private not-for-profit | $61,061 |
| 7 | University of Pennsylvania | Private not-for-profit | $51,955 |
| 8 | Harvard University | Private not-for-profit | $61,801 |
| 9 | Rice University | Private not-for-profit | $51,955 |
| 10 | Cornell University | Private not-for-profit | $54,219 |
| 11 | Northwestern University | Private not-for-profit | $61,716 |
| 12 | Johns Hopkins University | Private not-for-profit | $54,405 |
| 13 | University of California, Los Angeles | Public | $21,766 |
| 14 | University of Chicago | Private not-for-profit | $48,422 |
| 15 | Vanderbilt University | Private not-for-profit | $53,932 |
| 16 | Dartmouth College | Private not-for-profit | $62,293 |
| 17 | Williams College | Private not-for-profit | $57,121 |
| 18 | Brown University | Private not-for-profit | $55,847 |
| 19 | Claremont McKenna College | Private not-for-profit | $50,020 |
| 20 | Duke University | Private not-for-profit | $57,444 |
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