The best colleges for conservative students: The rise of the University of Florida, the fall of the Ivy League

Does this university encourage DEI policies? Has it been the scene of violent demonstrations? Were they tolerated by educational authorities? Does it have faith-focused student organizations?

For future students asking these questions when looking for a place of study, the only source of answers is usually found scattered in the press and on social media, but never in a definitive ranking. Neither in QS, nor in Times Higher Education, nor in America's Top Colleges. None. Until now.

The University Rankings 2025 from City Journal promises to provide guidance on the nation's best colleges from those and other questions, providing "the most relevant information in order to choose the right college."

The ranking evaluates 100 universities well positioned in other rankings, widely known or with regional importance. It analyzes both public information and proprietary variables, for example, faculty partisan donations, and both on- and off-campus life.

With all that information, the big winner is the University of Florida (U.F.), with 71.78 points out of 100. "Unlike many large universities—and plenty of small ones—U.F. is making significant strides toward returning the pursuit of truth and freedom of inquiry to a central place in its work," assures City Journal.

Located in Gainesville, Fla., the public university ranked first in freedom of speech for its students and in commitment to meritocracy. It also ranked second in return on investment in education.

City Journal notes "relatively new developments" at an institution whose origins date back nearly two centuries. In recent years, it has placed "greater emphasis on the Great Books and civic education."

The ranking's authors also highlight its response to last year's student protests:

"When anti-Israel protesters arrived on campus, administrators reminded them of the school’s rules governing the time, place, and manner of demonstrations, including restrictions on encampments. When those rules were violated, the university acted swiftly, dispatching campus police to end the protests," the report reads.

It is joined in the top 10 by:

Ivy League loses ground

Accustomed to occupying the top of national and international rankings year in and year out, several renowned universities were relegated from the top spots.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) appears only in 13th place. The position contrasts with its usual placement: first in the QS World University Rankings, first in America's Top Colleges and second in the Times Higher Education.

MIT comes out on top in career value added and in recovery of investment in education. It occupies its customary top spot for both metrics. But from there on, it has little to celebrate.

"We place MIT in the bottom 20 percent for faculty ideological pluralism," City Journal says. In addition, the analysts assert that it demonstrated "lackluster" support for freedom of speech and that its curriculum has "shortcomings."

For the authors, the worst deficiency of the institution is its response to antisemitism on campus. In addition to asserting that there have been "more than 150 anti-Semitic incidents for every 1,000 Jewish students," they recall that Congress launched an investigation into its efforts to protect the Jewish student body and that it took university authorities 19 days to dismantle a protest camp.

Harvard's new position also illustrates the relocation of several usually leading universities. Fifth in QS and Times Higher Education, and sixth in America's Top Colleges, in the City Journal ranking, it earns only just the 37th spot.

"Harvard University is, for many, synonymous with the pinnacle of American higher education. We beg to differ," the authors note. "While the school has its strengths, they are increasingly overshadowed by pervasive radical activism among its administrators, faculty, and students."

"Harvard has issued a land acknowledgment, encourages the use of preferred pronouns, and has pledged environmental commitments—all of which do little to advance its core educational mission," they assert before listing several other downfalls:

"Harvard is not a haven for free expression"; its "students have earned a reputation for silencing opposing views"; "the administration has also failed to address rising campus anti-Semitism" and "the resume performs very poorly on our metrics."

Practically all of Harvard's Ivy League peers fall several rungs from their usual spot. The most dramatic example is Brown University. Compared to Forbes's America's Top Colleges, where it ranks in 18th place, it falls 55 spots to 73rd in the City Journal ranking. 

The complete City Journal ranking

Here is the complete ranking of City Journal's top 100 universities (you can see the full ranking in detail at the following link).