When U.S. News & World Report annually ranks the nation's colleges and universities, the only real question is whether Princeton or Harvard will be No. 1. The answer for the 2016 ranking is...Princeton. (Sorry, Harvard!) A four-year education at these prestigious universities doesn't come cheap. With tuition, fees, room and board, the bill tops $60,000 annually. But the top state schools offer an excellent alternative at one-third the cost.

Find out THE most selective university in the USA.

The U.S. News rankings focus on academic excellence with schools ranked on up to 15 measures of academic quality. Overall, the rankings emphasize student outcomes, including graduation and retention rates, which carry the most weight at 30 percent. The top National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges have significantly higher graduation and freshman retention rates than other schools.

The top 10 best universities:
1. Princeton University
2. Harvard University
3. University of Chicago and Yale University (tie)
5. Columbia University and Stanford University (tie)
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
8. Duke University and University of Pennsylvania (tie)
10. John Hopkins University

The top 10 best public universities:
1. University of California, Berkeley
2. University of California, Los Angeles and University of Virginia (tie)
4. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
5. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
6. College of William and Mary
7. Georgia Institute of Technology
8. University of California, Santa Barbara
9. University of California, Irvine
10. University of California, Davis; University of California, San Diego; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; University of Wisconsin, Madison (tie)

The top 10 best liberal arts colleges:
1. Williams College
2. Amherst College
3. Wellesley College
4. Middlebury College and Swarthmore College (tie)
6. Bowdoin College
7. Carleton College and Pomona College (tie)
9. Claremont McKenna College and Davidson College (tie)

Find out the top 10 colleges that pay you back. If you're going to college to get a high-paying job later, enroll HERE.