LinkedIn is the latest media outlet to join the college rankings crowd, with a new top 50 list focused on long-term career success. The Princeton Review also released its latest rankings, rating colleges for career services, politics, food and dozens of other categories.
LinkedIn delved into its own data on alumni to track job placement rates, advancement into senior-level positions, internships and graduates who started their own companies.
The business-oriented social network posits that for many Americans, college is worth the investment, despite rising costs. “Graduates of top programs often land jobs sooner, build strong professional networks and advance into leadership faster,” LinkedIn contends.
Though LinkedIn’s list is new, it features many of the institutions that tend to lead college rankings. Here is the website’s top 10, including the industries where each college or university’s graduates flourish:
- Princeton University: Technology and internet, financial services, business consulting and services
- Duke University: Technology and internet, financial services, business consulting and services
- University of Pennsylvania: Financial services, technology and internet, business consulting and services
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Technology and internet, manufacturing, research services
- Cornell University: Technology and internet, financial services, higher education
- Harvard University: Financial services, business consulting and services, technology and internet
- Babson College: Financial services, technology and internet, business consulting and services
- University of Notre Dame: Business consulting and services, financial services, technology and internet
- Dartmouth College: Financial services, technology and internet, business consulting and services
- Stanford University: Technology and internet, research services, financial services
Where are the happiest students?
The Princeton Review ranks No. 1 schools for financial aid, academics, extracurriculars and dozens of other categories for its annual list, which is based on interviews with students. In an age of heightened political divisiveness, it debuted a new category this year: most politically moderate students.
Here’s a look at some of the No. 1 schools:
- Happiest students: Texas Christian University
- Best-run colleges: High Point University (North Carolina)
- Best food: University of Massachusetts-Amherst
- Best dorms: Washington University in St. Louis
- Most politically active students: Mount Holyoke College (Massachusetts)
- Great financial aid: Washington and Lee University (Virginia)
- Best career services: Bentley University (Massachusetts)
- Lots of race/class interaction: Harvey Mudd College (California)
- Most students engaged in community service: Marquette University (Wisconsin)
- Most politically moderate students: University of Richmond (Virginia)
Even more rankings: Which states have the best community college systems?
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