New college ranking says these Mass. schools are among the best

CAMBRIDGE - Nine schools in Massachusetts are among the country's top 100 national universities, according to the new college rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

Massachusetts schools on Best National Universities list

MIT is second overall, behind top-ranked Princeton University in New Jersey. Harvard University is third on the list.

The prestigious institutions, which cost about $62,000 to attend, were also both recognized as "best value schools" by the magazine. Both universities acknowledged at the start of the fall semester that they are seeing a less diverse incoming class as a result of the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action .

The next Massachusetts schools on the list are Boston College and Tufts University, tied for 37th. Boston University was not far behind at No. 41.

The other local schools that made the Top 100 were Northeastern University at No. 54, UMass Amherst at 58th, Brandeis University at 63rd and WPI at No. 86.

Best liberal art colleges in Massachusetts

The top two liberal arts colleges in America are both in Massachusetts, according to U.S. News: No. 1 Williams College in Williamstown and Amherst College .

Wellesley College is seventh on the list. The other Massachusetts representatives in the Top 50 are Smith College at No. 14, Holy Cross at No. 28 and Mount Holyoke College at No. 34

Top public colleges in Massachusetts

UMass Amherst also celebrated its placement of 26th in the ranking of the top public schools. It was the only representative from New England to make the Top 30. UMass Lowell was No. 81.

U.S. News said it focused on student priorities like academic reputation, the cost of attendance and return on investment when coming up with this year's ranking.