2 small Michigan colleges surpass Northwestern in Wall Street Journal rankings

A pair of small Michigan colleges have ranked higher than prestigious institutions, such as Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, according to a new Wall Street Journal ranking.

The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings outline the top public and private colleges in each region. The top-10 rankings for the Midwest showed the University of Detroit Mercy and Albion College at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, while Northwestern and the University of Chicago ranked No. 7 and No. 8, respectively.