The 10 Best Colleges In PA: New Ranking

PENNSYLVANIA — The University of Pennsylvania is the best college in the Commonwealth, according to Niche’s newly released 2027 college rankings.

The Pittsburgh-based college search and review site evaluated more than 4,000 colleges and universities nationwide, using federal data along with student and alumni reviews.

The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is ranked No. 10 nationally on Niche’s 2027 Best Colleges in America list and No. 1 in Pennsylvania.

The elite private university received an A+ for its overall rating. Penn has full-time enrollment of 10,497 undergraduate students and a part-time enrollment of 981 undergraduate students.

Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is ranked second.

The internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science and technology to public policy and humanities, also received an A+ ranking.

The rest of the Top 10 colleges in Pennsylvania are:

• Swarthmore College, Swarthmore
• Lehigh University, Bethlehem
• Penn State University, University Park
• University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
• Haverford College, Haverford
• Villanova University, Villanova
• Bucknell University, Lewisburg
• Lafayette College, Easton

Niche publishes rankings for categories including value, academics, professors, student life, campuses, majors, public universities and liberal arts colleges, as well as rankings by state.

The Top 10 Nationally

Nationally, Massachusetts Institute of Technology took the No. 1 spot on the 2027 Best Colleges list.

The full top 10 includes:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
2. Stanford University, Stanford, California
3. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
4. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
5. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
6. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
7. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
8. Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
9. Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
10. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

What Goes Into The Rankings

Niche’s rankings combine federal data with reviews from students and alumni, weighing factors including academics, value, professors, campus life, diversity and safety.

For 2027, Niche also added a measure that compares colleges with similar institutions based on their missions and outcomes.

The site also introduced pilot grades for student wellness and “future readiness,” including career services, internships and exposure to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.