Best Graduate Schools 2017: Harvard, Yale And MIT Ranked Top Universities For Business, Law And Engineering

Considering going to graduate school but not sure where to apply? Though where you fit best will depend on your specialty, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University are solid bets for certain fields. Those three institutions were named the top grad schools for business, engineering and law, respectively, in recent rankings from U.S. News and World Report.

The media website famous for its education and consumer rankings debuted its 2017 Best Graduate Schools lists Wednesday. It used surveys from staff to analyze universities based on metrics like their employment rates, test scores and graduate salaries, according to a news release.

"Going to graduate school is a major commitment of time and money," education managing editor Anita Narayan said in the release, adding that the rankings' goal is to help families "find the right fit."

There are more than 3 million students enrolled in postbaccalaureate programs in the United States, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and that number is projected to climb each year. Students are typically advised to apply to five or six schools, so looking at rankings can indeed help narrow your choices.

However, all rankings should be viewed with skepticism, in part because grad school decisions are ultimately very individual. For example, if you're looking for a master's degree, you probably want to consider the caliber of the overall faculty. If you're working toward a Ph.D., you may prioritize a single expert mentor over the professors at large, according to the Princeton Review.

"We know you're not taking out thousands of dollars in student loans to dine at the best campus cafeterias in the land," the Princeton Review wrote. "For grad students, the academic experience is paramount, and your career goals will impact what you look for in a program."

Without further ado, here are U.S. News and World Report's top grad schools for 2017.

Best Business Schools:

1. Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
2. Stanford University in Stanford, California
3. University of Chicago in Chicago
4. University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Best Engineering Schools:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts
2. Stanford University in Stanford, California
3. University of California — Berkeley in Berkeley, California
4. California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California
5. Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Best Law Schools:

1. Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut
2 (tie). Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
2 (tie). Stanford University in Stanford, California
4 (tie). Columbia University in New York City
4 (tie). University of Chicago in Chicago

Other rankings, including nursing, medicine and education, are here.