Second to (Almost) None, says Forbes Magazine

Forbes awarded the University the second place position in its list of the nation's best public and private colleges and universities for 2010. Williams College in Williamstown, MA, incidentally the hometown of ABC's most recent Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky, was given the top position.

Last year's top ranked West Point fell to No. 4 on the list this year. Amherst was ranked third and MIT fifth. Harvard took eighth and Yale tenth.

Rather than base rankings on school reputation as judged by college administrators, Forbes decided to focus on factors that most affect students. Categories for judgment include, among others:

1. How graduates succeed in their chosen professions based on salary
2. Number of alumni listed in a Forbes/CCAP list of corporate officers
3. Satisfaction with college based on freshman-to-sophomore retention rate
4. How many students finish in 4 years
5. A best value ranking based on a quality: cost ratio

So thanks again to Forbes for pointing out that "The best college in America isn't in Cambridge or Princeton, West Point or Annapolis. It's nestled in the Berkshire Mountains."