Forbes’ Best Colleges: MIT Holds No. 1 As UPenn & Caltech Climb

MIT’s Sloan School Courtyard

For the second year in a row, MIT topped Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges ranking, leading a list of 500 U.S. colleges and universities judged on what students get out of their degrees: academic achievement, career success, earnings and a manageable debt load.

The 2027 ranking, released September 10, has plenty of familiar names at the top. Princeton University rose one spot to No. 2, followed by Harvard University, up three places to No. 3. Columbia University slipped two spots to No. 4, while the University of Pennsylvania climbed five.

The biggest jump into the top 10 belongs to California Institute of Technology. Caltech surged 17 places to No. 7, landing between Stanford University at No. 6 and Yale University at No. 8. Forbes credits the small STEM powerhouse with the highest share of graduates who go on to earn PhDs.

University of California, Berkeley remains the highest-ranked public university, though it fell four places to No. 9. Vanderbilt University edged up one spot to No. 10 backed by a 94% graduation rate and low student debt, according to Forbes.

All eight Ivy League schools made the top 20. Private institutions hold 13 of the top 15 spots, with Berkeley and University of California, Los Angeles, at No. 12, the two public exceptions.

On the other side, Swarthmore College fell 27 places to No. 50, while Washington University in St. Louis dropped 20 to No. 45. Emory University and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill each slipped 14 spots, to Nos. 41 and 49.

FORBES’ TOP UNDERGRAD B-SCHOOLS 

Forbes’ list ranks entire universities, not individual majors or business programs. Several of its highest-ranked institutions, including Princeton and Stanford, do not offer undergraduate business majors.

Still, the results offer useful context for prospective business students. A university’s resources, financial aid, alumni network and recruiting relationships can all shape the experience inside its business school.

University of Pennsylvania, home to The Wharton School, is the highest-ranked university among the schools in the top 10 of Poets&Quants’ 2026 Best Undergraduate Business Schools ranking. Wharton again finished first in P&Q’s ranking, while its parent university rose to fifth on Forbes’ list.

Cornell, home to P&Q’s No. 3 Dyson School, held steady at No. 14 on Forbes’ list. University of Michigan, home to No. 4 Ross, also stayed put at No. 21. University of Virginia, whose McIntire School ranks second in P&Q’s latest ranking, climbed six places to No. 28 overall.

Here is where the universities housing P&Q’s top 10 undergraduate business programs finished on Forbes’ ranking.

Among Forbes’ top 50, Carnegie Mellon University, home to Tepper School of Business, (No. 12 in P&Q’s ranking of undergraduate business programs) and University of Washington, Seattle, home to Foster School of Business (No. 19 in P&Q’s ranking), posted the biggest gains, each climbing 18 places. Carnegie Mellon rose from No. 43 to No. 25, while Washington moved from No. 50 to No. 32.

University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) and Georgetown University (McDonough) each gained 10 places on Forbes’ list, finishing at Nos. 23 and 31. They both finished in the top 10 in P&Q’s business program ranking, landing at No. 9 and 7 respectively.

Despite being a member of the M7  — the so call Magnificent 7 of the MBA programs — MIT doesn’t offer a stand-alone business major to undergrads. MIT’s Sloan School of Management does offer majors and minors in management, business analytics and finance which students can pair with fields such as engineering, computer science or economics.

Undergraduates can also pursue faculty research through MIT’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and receive advising on academic choices and career opportunities.

CHOOSING A COLLEGE IN THE AGE OF AI

In this year’s ranking package, Forbes examines what families should ask as colleges rethink how students learn, how professors teach and what graduates will need in a changing job market in the age of AI.

In How To Choose A College In The Age Of AI, Forbes finds colleges take widely different approaches to the technology.

At Harvard, a push from College Dean David Deming to encourage AI where it can deepen learning drew objections from humanities professors concerned about what students lose when they outsource writing and interpretation. At Amherst College, professors are experimenting with everything from oral exams to assignments that permit AI use with disclosure.

For students, that makes the campus visit more complicated. Forbes advises families to ask whether AI rules are clear, whether professors have support to experiment and whether students will gain AI skills regardless of their major.

University of Florida offers one example. It has more than 200 AI-designated courses across disciplines, and nearly 70% of graduating students have taken at least one, according to Forbes. Arizona State University is emphasizing the ability to evaluate AI’s limitations and biases and apply it within a student’s chosen field.

The questions should extend beyond technology, too. How will students develop judgment, communication and the ability to work with people? How easily can they change majors or add another field of study? And how early will they get meaningful work experience?

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