Harvard, Princeton named top universities

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Harvard University and Princeton University tied for top-ranked national university in U.S. News & World Report's 2012 rankings of best colleges.

Harvard's annual tuition and fees total $39,849; Princeton's total $37,000, the magazine said.

In the category, which comprises large, research-oriented schools, they were followed by Yale University, ranked third; Columbia University, fourth; the California Institute of Technology, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania, tied for fifth; and Duke University, 10th.

For national liberal arts colleges, Williams College ranked first, followed by Amherst College, second; Swarthmore College, third; Pomona College, fourth; Middlebury College, fifth; Bowdoin College, Carleton College and Wellesley College, tied for sixth; Claremont McKenna College, ninth; and Haverford College, 10th.

Among regional universities, in the North, Villanova University ranked first, Fairfield University, second and Loyola University Maryland, third; in the South, Rollins College, first, Elon University, second and Stetson University, third; in the Midwest, Creighton University, first, Butler University, second and Drake University, third; and in the west, Trinity University, first, Santa Clara University, second and Gonzaga University, third.