See Where Massachusetts Universities Rank in U.S. News’s Best Colleges List

BU and BC are making noise, while Northeastern slips.

Photo by Olga Khvan

Photo by Olga Khvan

U.S. News and World Report released its 2016 “Best Colleges” rankings Wednesday, with Massachusetts colleges and universities predictably well-represented.

There was little movement within the top 10, as Harvard and MIT retained their number 2 and 7 spots, respectively. Princeton University in New Jersey took top honors, while Yale University placed third.

Tufts held steady at 27. Both schools at either end of Commonwealth Avenue saw a bump in the rankings from last year, with Boston College improving from 31 to 30, and Boston University, 42 to 41. Brandeis University similarly rose one notch from 35 to 34, while Northeastern University slipped five spots from 42 to 41 after clawing their way up from number 98 in 2007.

The UMass system made the list twice, with UMass Amherst at number 74 and UMass Lowell at number 156.

Several Massachusetts schools made U.S. News‘ brand-new “Most Innovative Colleges” ranking as well: MIT (3), Northeastern (6) and Harvard (tied-8).

Each year in 1983, U.S. News compiles its ranking by crunching data from more than 1,300 schools, taking into account undergraduate academic excellence, retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving rate.