U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of the nation’s best colleges, released on Friday, has Harvard right at the top knocking out Princeton, which was on first slot for the last three years.

Yale comes in third, followed by Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford. MIT and Stanford tie for the fourth slot.

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) ties for sixth with the University of Pennsylvania.

University of California in Los Angeles is 25th on the list, while cross-town rival University of Southern California is 27th.

University of California in San Diego ranks 35th and University of California Irvine is 44th.

Binghamton University ranks 34th among public universities and colleges, moving up from 37th position last year, and 77th position among all public and private universities. Last year, Binghamton ranked 82nd overall.

“U.S News & World Report” assembled data from more than 1,400 colleges for the 2009 rankings.

However, there are critics who question the methodology of the magazine’s rankings. The presidents of three elite institutions -- Williams, Amherst and Swarthmore -- said that they would not give the magazine information which is not publicly available and wouldn't use the ranking to endorse their schools. They were supported by the presidents of 16 other schools.