How did DC-area colleges score on the 2026 US News and World Report college rankings?

How did DC-area colleges score on the 2026 US News and World Report college rankings?

Diane Morris | diane.morris@wtop.com
September 23, 2025, 4:17 AM

The latest U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges rankings didn’t have dramatic changes from last year, but a few D.C.-area colleges saw some surprising shifts.

Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland at College Park still rank in the top 50 best national universities for the 2026 Best Colleges standings, which were released Tuesday. ... Hopkins remained in the top 10, weighing in at No. 7 in a four-way tie, down one slot from 2025, while Georgetown remained at No. 24, the same as last year.

But tiny Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, surprised U.S. News and World Report researchers with its giant jump, rising 29 spots from last year to rank in a tie at No. 107, according to LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News and World Report.

“There wasn’t a lot of volatility this year at all … that kind of a leap this year is unusual,” Jones said about the Christian liberal arts college, located about 45 miles from the District.

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