Cornell University ranked 11th in the country on the 2025 Best National Universities list published by U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday evening.
Ahead of No. 13 Columbia University and No. 30 New York University, Cornell earned the title of top school in New York State.
With Cornell tied with the University of Chicago for the second year in a row, both colleges’ rankings increased by one place from 2024, when they were in the No. 12 spot alongside Columbia.
In addition to Columbia, Cornell outranked fellow Ivies Brown University and Dartmouth College.
Last year, Columbia and Cornell shared the 12th position, tying them as the top universities in New York State. However, this year’s ranking tied Columbia with Brown at No. 13.
The last time Cornell ranked above Columbia was in the 2023 U.S. News rankings, where Cornell held the 17th position, while Columbia experienced a significant drop in rankings, from No. 2 to No. 18. Columbia’s drop in rankings was primarily due to concerns raised about the accuracy of their data reporting, leading to an internal investigation and acknowledgment of inaccuracies.
Compared to 2024, the 2025 rankings more heavily weighed pell-graduation rates and pell-graduation performance, comprising 5.5 percent of the formula each, rather than three percent each.
However, first-generation graduation rates and first-generation performance were no longer considered, weighted at 2.5 percent of the formula each in 2024.
18 percent of Cornell undergraduates receive federal Pell Grants, subsidies awarded to students with significant financial need.
Cornell remains the best college for veterans, the seventh best for computer science, the eighth best for psychology programs, the ninth best for business programs and the 10th best college for engineering.