For veterans, these are the top schools according to US News & World Report

The Windy City is once again home to the highest-ranked university in the latest U.S. News & World Report list of "Best Colleges for Veterans," while the school that made the biggest leap into the top five is right along the I-55 corridor as well. 

Big picture view:

While M.I.T. may have claimed the top overall spot in the U.S. News’ latest rankings, the publication also recognizes that different people have different needs and opportunities and offers separate breakdowns for them. 

For veterans, the GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program can be key factors when it comes to finding the right school. Taking that into account, the University of Chicago shoots to the top slot in the "Best Colleges for Veterans" category.

By the numbers:

The University of Chicago is not the only school to hold its own at the top of the veteran-specific rankings. Cornell University claimed the runner-up spot once again, while Brown University kept its claim on the number three ranking. However, the Ivy League school has to share that spot with Washington University in St. Louis, which was not on the list last year. 

Rounding out the top five is Princeton University, the college that sat atop the overall rankings for 15 years before being dislodged by M.I.T. this time around. 

How the rankings work

Dig deeper:

To qualify for the list, colleges and universities had to meet additional criteria beyond what is normally gathered for the overall rankings. The institution needs to be certified for the GI Bill, and it must participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program or be a public school. It also must have reported to U.S. News that it had 20 full or part-time undergraduate veterans and active-duty service members in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Eighty percent of the college or university’s score for this category would be based on its overall tally, U.S. News’ methodology explained. The schools would then receive 10 points if Yellow Ribbon benefits were available for all students and 10 additional points if they consistently provided the maximum amount of Yellow Ribbon funding.

Public schools, meanwhile, would get the full 20 points automatically because the GI Bill usually eliminates the necessity of Yellow Ribbon funding, which helps pay for higher out-of-state, private school, foreign school, or graduate school tuition and fees not covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, U.S. News explained. 

Despite all public schools getting those automatic points, all the universities in the top five positions were private institutions. 

 

 

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