4 local universities rank top 50 in U.S. News Best National University Rankings

WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — Four universities in the DMV earned a spot in U.S. News’s list of the top 50 best national universities for 2025.

Schools are ranked based on several factors . According to U.S. News, the top-ranked schools provide abundant classroom resources for students and faculty, have higher bachelor’s degree graduation rates and produce graduates who enter the workforce with higher starting salaries and “manageable debt.”

Other factors include, but are not limited to, first-year student retention rates and how well schools graduate students with lower incomes (social mobility).

Here are the four schools in the DMV that ranked in the top 50:

John Hopkins University: Ranked No.6

John Hopkins University is a private institution located in Baltimore, Md. The university has an acceptance rate of 8% and a 4-year graduation rate of 87% according to U.S. News .

Hopkins is widely commended for its contributions to medicine, science and education. Regarding enrollment, the school has 6,090 undergraduate students and a total of 30,363 students .

Georgetown University: Ranked No.24 (tie)

Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C., is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in the country, founded in 1789. It has a 4-year graduation rate of 87% and an acceptance rate of 13%, according to U.S. News .

The school is well-known and highly recognized for its business and economics programs. According to U.S. News, the university has 7,968 undergraduate students and a total of 20,392 students.

University of Virginia: Ranked No. 24 (tie)

Tied with Georgetown University for No. 24 is the University of Virginia (UVA) , located in Charlottesville, Va. Thomas Jefferson founded UVA in 1819. According to U.S. News , the university has an acceptance rate of 17% and a 4-year graduation rate of 92%.

Popular majors include liberal arts and sciences/liberal studies, social sciences, engineering, business/commerce and computer and information sciences. The university has an undergraduate enrollment of 17,618 and a total of 25,944 students .

University of Maryland, College Park: Ranked No.44 (tie)

University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) is a public institution founded in 1856. With an acceptance rate of 45%, the school has a 4-year graduation rate of 76%.

A large campus, UMD has 30,608 undergraduate students and a total of 40,813 students, according to U.S. News. Popular majors include computer and information sciences, engineering, social sciences, biological and biomedical sciences and business. UMD is also highly recognized for its Artificial Intelligence and computer science programs.

For a complete list of ranked schools , click here.

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