List of Top Tier Universities

Each year, U.S. News & World Report releases rankings of the top colleges and universities in the U.S. Only regionally accredited schools with enrollments of at least 200 students are considered. The rankings are separated into a tier system based on a wide variety of categories, including admissions criteria, faculty makeup and overall academic success of the school's student body. The top three schools in tier one of the 2010 rankings were Harvard University, Princeton University and Yale University.

Harvard University was founded in the Boston suburb of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1636. The school's 11 academic units offer programs of study from business to design, law and public health. The school is home to over 70 libraries, including the Birkhoff Mathematics Library, the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies Library and the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine.The school is also home to The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, one of the nation's pre-eminent postgraduate research facilities.

Harvard University Massachusetts Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 617-495-1000 harvard.edu

Princeton University was founded in New Jersey in 1746. The school offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs to a student body of approximately 8,000 students annually. Over a dozen Princeton graduates have gone on to win Nobel Prizes in a variety of categories including literature, peace, physics and economics. The school is home to several natural sciences laboratories including the Princeton Center for Environmental Bioinorganic Chemistry, the Princeton Center for the Study of Brain, Mind and Behavior and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics.

Princeton University Princeton, NJ 08544 609-258-3000 princeton.edu

Yale University was founded in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1701. In addition to an undergraduate college, the school is home to 10 professional schools offering study in disciplines including architecture, law, medicine and music. The school's humanities and social science research centers include the Yale Center for Media Initiatives, the Whitney Humanities Center and the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Over a dozen Yale graduates have gone on to become heads of state in the United States and abroad.

Yale University College Street New Haven, CT 06511 203-432-4771 yale.edu