US News HE rankings 2025: Princeton, MIT and Harvard hold top spots as Berkeley overtakes UCLA as leading public university

The 2025 US News HE rankings reveal Princeton, MIT and Harvard holding top national spots, with the University of California, Berkeley overtaking UCLA as the leading public university. Despite a turbulent year for US higher education, the rankings show minimal change. Minor formula tweaks were made, and only a few universities shifted significantly in the top 50. The report remains influential amid ongoing debates about ranking methodologies and their role in admissions.