When it comes time to apply for colleges, many criteria factor into the decision. Maybe youre looking for somewhere close to (or very far away from) home, perhaps youre leaning towards a party school or maybe youve settled on your major already and youre applying to colleges with a specific specialty. If academic excellence is a top priority when selecting a college, the 2024 Academic Ranking of World Universities is your guide to the best of the best.

　　The recently-released ranking incorporates factors such as the number of alumni whove won Nobel Prizes, publications in top-tier journals and per capita academic output of each institution. Americans will be pleased to know that U.S. universities dominate the list. Of the top ten, eight are right here in the U.S.

　　But which university is the best of the best? At number one, for the 22nd year in a row, is Harvard University. The report praises Harvard for its devotion to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders in many disciplines who make a difference globally. Hats off to Harvard and the other universities that made the list, including the two non-U.S. universities: Oxford and Cambridge.

　　These are the 10 best universities in the world Harvard University Stanford University Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Cambridge University of California, Berkeley University of Oxford Princeton University Columbia University California Institute of Technology University of Chicago