BUCKEYES
Big Ten schools ranked academically by U.S. News & World Report
Buckeyes Wire
July 12, 2026, 7:01 a.m. ET
If student-athletes are truly students before athletes, then higher education should matter probably more than it does, and that’s why we like to follow what U.S. News & Report has to say about what the best schools are out there. Each year, the publication releases an academic ranking of all United States universities, including yearly tuition, enrollment, and acceptance rates, and we are most interested in the Big Ten teams since that’s the conference YOUR Ohio State Buckeyes are a part of
More so than some other conferences, it’s a pretty impressive list because 15 of the 18 schools are among the top 100 based on the criteria used by U.S. News & Report. That’s more than we can say for other conferences — ahem, SEC! (chant with me now)
Ohio State continues to improve its academic reputation, and it continues to do so, appearing in the top 50 with about the same ranking as lasta year. The Buckeyes also led the entire country in APR scores for the football program, so the jokes about the Buckeyes being just an NFL factory are simply not true
Here’s how all of the Big Ten teams stack up among themselves and within the totality of the rankings News & Report for the 2026-27 academic year
No. 18 – University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2025 Big Ten Rank | 18 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment | 19,701
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 152
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 158 ⇩
In-state cost | $10,434
No. 17 – University of Oregon
City | Eugene, OR
2025 Big Ten Rank | 17 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |20,622
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 109
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 110 ⇩
In-state cost |$15,904
No. 16 – University of Iowa
City |Iowa City, IA
2025 Big Ten Rank | 16 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |22,738
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 98
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 102 ⇩
In-state cost |$11,622
No. 15 – Indiana University, Bloomington
City |Bloomington, Indiana
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 15 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment | 38,093
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 73
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 73 ⇔
In-state cost |$12,144
No. 14 – Michigan State University
City | East Lansing, Michigan
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 13 (tied) ⇧
Undergraduate enrollment |41,234
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 63
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 64 ⇩
In-state cost |$19,742
No. 12 (tie) – Penn State University
City |University Park, Pennsylvania
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 13 (tied) ⇧
Undergraduate enrollment |42,619
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 63
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 59 ⇧
In-state cost |$21,098
No. 12 (tie) – University of Minnesota
City |Minneapolis, Minnesota
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 12 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |41,303
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 54
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 59 ⇩
In-state cost |$18,482
No. 11 – Purdue University (main campus)
City |West Lafayette, Indiana
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 10 (tied) ⇩
Undergraduate enrollment |44,819
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 46
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 46 ⇔
In-state cost |$9,992
No. 8 (tie) – Rutgers University
City |Piscataway, New Jersey
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 7 (tied) ⇩
Undergraduate enrollment |37,985
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 41
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 42 ⇩
In-state cost |$18,827
No. 8 (tie) – University of Maryland
City |College Park, Maryland
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 9 ⇩
Undergraduate enrollment |31,133
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 44
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 42 ⇧
In-state cost |$11,809
No. 8 (tie) – University of Washington
City |Seattle, Washington
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 10 (tied) ⇧
Undergraduate enrollment |40,754
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 46
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 42 ⇧
In-state cost |$13,406
No. 7 – The Ohio State University
City |Columbus, Ohio
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 7 (tied) ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |46,815
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 41
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 41 ⇔
In-state cost |$13,641
No. 5 (tie) – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
City |Champaign, Illinois
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 5 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |37,140
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 33
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 36 ⇩
In-state cost |$18,046
No. 5 (tie) – University of Wisconsin-Madison
City |Madison, Wisconsin
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 6 ⇩
Undergraduate enrollment |23,181
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 39
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 36 ⇧
In-state cost |$16,035
No. 4 – University of Southern California
City |Los Angeles, California
2025 Big Ten Rank | 4 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |20,630
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 27
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 28 ⇩
Cost |$75,162
No. 3 – University of Michigan
City |Ann Arbor, Michigan
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 3 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |34,454
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 21
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 20 ⇧
In-state cost |$19,497
No. 2 – University of California, Los Angeles
City |Los Angeles, California
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 2 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |33,471
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 15
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 17 ⇩
In-state cost |$14,824
No. 1 – Northwestern University
City |Evanston, Illinois
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 1 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |9,060
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 6
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 7 ⇩
Cost |$70,589
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