For the second year in a row, Williams College ranked first, Princeton ranked second, and the United States Military Academy ranked third in the recently released top college report from Forbes for 2011.
There is, however, some controversy over the list.
“What [the list] is forcing schools to do is to become competitive, or alternatively, to try to  imitate each other.
So instead of real choices for students, what you’re having is a homogenized list of schools,” said College Counselor Dr. Karl Revells.
The Forbes list divides their basis for ranking into five main categories, and 12 sub-categories.
Of the five, student satisfaction makes up 27.5 percent, and takes into account student evaluations and predicted versus actual freshman-sophomore retention rates.
Post-graduate success is 17.5 percent and includes alumni success in respect to income and “listings of Alumni in Who’s Who in America.”
Schools are penalized for high student debt rates and large quantities of student loans.
This makes up 17.5 percent of the total calculation.
Four-year graduation rates make up 17.5 percent, and competitive school awards make up the last 7.5 percent.
Having an education from one of the top colleges in the country is not cheap.
The average cost to attend the top 15 colleges—excluding the United States Military and Air Force Academies— is about $54,865 per year.
The United States Military and Air Force Academies do not charge tuition.
This list brings smaller colleges that might not have as much prestige as the Ivy Leagues to the attention of potential applicants.
According to Dr. Revells, many colleges refuse to participate in the process and are thus left off the list.
“You either play the game, or you don’t. If everybody’s looking at the list, you have to play the game to survive.”