Maine Schools Ranked Among the Best by the Wall Street Journal

Fall is in full effect here in Maine. That means cooler weather (allegedly), leaves falling, weekends filled with football, and schools filled with our next generation of leaders.

This means it's also that time of year where annual school rankings start coming out. This includes one of the most popular, the Wall Street Journal's 2025 Best College list.

The Wall Street Journal's rankings are more than just bragging rights. The media giant meticulously analyzes thousands of American colleges to identify the cream of the crop. They use research data from College Pulse and Statista to create the most detailed list possible. You can read more about the methodology here

Maine did relatively well in this year's rankings. The Pine Tree State secured four spots on the list. It includes three private schools and one public. Let's take a closer look at Maine's rankings.

64. Colby College - Waterville - The Central Maine college came in as Maine's number 1 school. Colby gets accolades for learning opportunities, facilities, and post-college salary rate.

161. Bowdoin College - Brunswick - The Midcoast private school came in as Maine's second ranked school. One of the "Baby Ivy's" is noted for very good job graduate rate and job placement. It also has one of the highest recommendations in the state.

376. Bates College - Lewiston - The final of the three "Baby Ivy's" just missed out being ranked in the top 375. Bates College is noted for student development and learning facilities. The school also has a "short term" in the spring that allows for more immersive learning.

493. University of Maine - Maine's flagship public university sneaks into the top 500. The college scored high in student prep and development. Plus, the facilities are ever improving in Orono.

This is a respectable showing for Maine. Although, I am a little surprised the Baby Ivy's were further down the list than where we typically expect to see them. I'm also happy to see UMaine make the list. Other lists typically omit Maine's largest school, which never sits right with me.

As for the top 10, here you go...

1. Princeton University
2. Babson University
3. Stanford University
4. Yale
5. Claremont McKenna University
6. MIT
7. Harvard
8. University of California, Berkeley
9. Davidson College
10. Bentley University

Wow, not one school with a football team worth a damn. Boring.

You can see all 500 ranked schools here.

And now a look at Maine's best high schools.