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Best College Rankings

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Dartmouth vs. Brown vs. Cornell

Rankings across 8 publishers plus admissions, cost, debt and outcome data for Dartmouth College, Brown University, Cornell University. Every figure is sourced and dated.

Side-by-side metric comparison of Dartmouth College, Brown University, Cornell University
MetricDartmouthHanover, NHBrownProvidence, RICornellIthaca, NY
Acceptance rate5.4%5.4%8.8%
SAT middle 50%1500–15701510–15801500–1570
Average net price$29,51914.3% on Pell grants$25,18413.8% on Pell grants$28,69018.4% on Pell grants
Published tuition & fees$68,268Most recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release$71,412Most recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release$69,314Most recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release
6-year graduation rate95.5%95.7%95.4%
First-year retention98.4%98.8%98.4%
Undergraduates on Pell grants14.3%13.8%18.4%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$97,434$93,487$104,043
Median federal debt at graduation$17,500$11,428$14,000
Student-faculty ratio7:16:19:1
Undergraduate enrollment4,5417,22615,995
Consensus percentile6Lower is better3Lower is better2Lower is better
Methodology sensitivity16 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points7 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points5 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points

Highlighted cells mark the most favourable value in that row where a direction is meaningful. No highlight appears for metrics like enrollment or SAT range, where “better” depends entirely on what you want.

Rankings across all sources

“Not ranked by this source” means that publisher’s list does not include the school — not missing data and not a poor rank.

SourceDartmouthBrownCornell
US News#13 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026#13 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026#12 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026
Forbes#17 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026#18 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026#14 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026
Washington Monthly#36 of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars · 2026#17 of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars · 2026#21 of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars · 2026
WSJ#57 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026#36 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026#27 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026
Niche#8 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026#12 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026#21 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026
MoneyListedListedListed
Princeton ReviewListedListedListed
QS#248 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026#69 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026#16 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026

What each school is for

Dartmouth College

Students comparing Dartmouth College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

Biggest caution

This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.

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Brown University

Students comparing Brown University on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

Biggest caution

This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.

Full profile

Cornell University

Students comparing Cornell University on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

Biggest caution

This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.

Full profile