作文地带从《美国新闻与世界报道》周刊获取的最新发布的美国全国性大学排名，哈佛大学与普林斯顿大学并列第一。

　　由美国东北部8所名校组成的常青藤联盟中5所大学入围前十，除前面提到的哈佛与普林斯顿外，耶鲁大学、哥伦比亚大学分列第三、第四，另一所常青藤大学宾夕法尼亚大学与加州理工学院、麻省理工学院、斯坦福大学和芝加哥大学并列第五。

　　另外，在文理学院类的排名中，这本杂志把威廉斯学院和阿默斯特学院列为前两名。这类学院与全国性综合大学不同，以本科教育为主，授予的学位至少一半是文理学科学士学位。

　　《美国新闻与世界报道》自1985年起开始发布美国大学及院系排名，排名依据综合调查反馈和各院校提供的数据，主要考虑因素包括学费、注册学生总数、认同率、毕业率、新生保持率、班级规模和高考录取成绩等。

　　这家杂志把哈佛、耶鲁和普林斯顿还列为“最具价值的”大学，依据是学校排名、学生花费和学生享受的平均助学金水平。

　　杂志写道：“更优质的课程，更低的花费，便是更好的待遇。”在这3所学校，至少56％的学生享受助学金。
 

作文地带整理英文原文：

Princeton University tied Harvard University as the top-ranked National University in U.S.News & World Report's 2012 rankings of Best Colleges. Last year, Harvard stood alone as the best ranked National University, a category that encompasses large, research-oriented schools.

No changes took place at the very top of the rankings of National Liberal Arts Colleges—schools that emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts fields—as Williams College once again edged Amherst College for the highest rank.
 
[View the 2012 rankings of National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges.]
 
Though college sticker prices continue to skyrocket, and it will now cost some students more than $200,000 to attain a degree at the aforementioned schools and others ranked by U.S. News, data indicate that the value of a college degree hasn't waned. A recent report by the Georgetown University Center for Education and Workforce indicates that those with bachelor's degrees earn 75 percent more over their lifetimes than those who only have high school diplomas.
 
While the national unemployment rate topped out at 9.8 percent in 2010, it was 5.4 percent among those with bachelor's degrees in the same year. Plus, a college or university doesn't need to cost six figures to provide a solid education; U.S. News highlights some of these schools in lists such as the best up-and-coming schools, the best schools for B students, and schools that provide the best value, to name a few.
 
There was little change among the top-20 ranked National Universities, though the University of Chicago jumped four spots, from a tie for ninth last year to a tie for fifth this year. Among the biggest movers in the top 50 are the University of Miami, which jumped nine spots from a tie for 47th to a tie for 38th, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which dropped from a tie for 41st to a tie for 50th this year.
 
[See photos of the top 10 National Universities.]
 
Some California schools are weathering the state's ongoing financial storm with their academic reputations intact, as the University of California—Berkeley and the University of California—Los Angeles were once again ranked as the top two public National Universities. Only three public schools—Berkeley, UCLA, and the University of Virginia—are ranked among the top 25 National Universities.
 
Like National Universities, there was little flux in the rankings of the top National Liberal Arts Colleges. Bryn Mawr College made one of the biggest leaps among the top 50 schools, catapulting five spots to from a tie for 30th to a tie for 25th. Conversely, Smith College fell five spots from a tie for 14th to a tie for 19th.

[Get tips on how to narrow your college choices.]
 
The rankings of Regional Universities, which offer an array of undergraduate and graduate degrees but few doctoral programs, are split amongst four quadrants of the country. Villanova University, Rollins College, Creighton University, and Trinity University all retained the top ranks in the North, South, Midwest, and West, respectively.
 
However, there was change among the top Regional Colleges—schools that emphasize undergraduate education, but award fewer than 50 percent of degrees in the liberal arts. This year, John Brown University garnered the top spot in the South; Carroll College earned top billing in the West after last year's top school in that region, the United States Air Force Academy, was reclassified as a National Liberal Arts College. The United States Coast Guard Academy and Taylor University retained their top spots in the North and Midwest, respectively.
 
After 27 years of ranking Best Colleges, U.S. News continues to make additions beyond the data, aimed at providing students and parents the tools to find a school that best meets their needs. Given the explosion of social media in the American higher educational landscape, U.S. News now provides links to many institutions' Facebook and Twitter pages. Also, a new Facebook tool on college directory pages on usnews.com allows readers to see which of their friends attended, or are attending, a particular school.
 

《美国新闻与世界报道》介绍：

（英语：U.S News & World Report）是一本新闻杂志周刊。编辑部位于华盛顿特区，但其总部设在纽约市。1933年创立时名为《美国新闻》，1948年和《世界报道》合并。该刊在编排版面上不同于《时代》周刊和《新闻周刊》，它以专题报道美国国内外问题及美国官方人物访问记而显其特色。相对来说，它的文字浅显易读。除着重报道国际国内新闻外，内容侧重政治、经济和军事述评，栏目较少，内容较严肃。有关军事力量和战略动态的报道和分析，颇有分量，广受各方重视。每期内容约有五分之二针对世界一定地区专门问题的报道。