The best university is Princeton University

Summary 

 Princeton University is a private institution that was founded in 1746. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,336, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 600 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Princeton University's ranking in the 2014 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 1. Its tuition and fees are $40,170 (2013-14). Princeton, the fourth-oldest college in the United States, is located in the quiet town of Princeton, N.J. Within the walls of its historic ivy-covered campus, Princeton offers a number of events, activities and organizations. The Princeton Tigers, members of the Ivy League, are well known for their consistently strong men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. Students live in one of six residential colleges that provide a residential community as well as dining services but have the option to join one of more than 10 eating clubs for their junior and senior years. 

The eating clubs serve as social and dining organizations for the students who join them. Princeton’s unofficial motto, "In the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations," speaks to the university’s commitment to community service. Princeton includes highly ranked graduate programs through the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. 

One unique aspect of Princeton’s academic program is that all undergraduate students are required to write a senior thesis. Notable alumni include U.S. President Woodrow Wilson; John Forbes Nash, subject of the 2001 film "A Beautiful Mind"; model/actress Brooke Shields; and First Lady Michelle Obama. According to Princeton legend, if a student exits campus through FitzRandolph Gate prior to graduation, he or she may be cursed never to graduate.