Stanford ranked fifth in this year’s rankings of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, slipping by one slot from last year’s fourth-place ranking. 

In order, MIT, Princeton, Harvard and Yale ranked above Stanford, while the California Institute of Technology tied at fifth place.

Since they began in 1983, the U.S. News rankings have drawn criticism for contributing to a cultural obsession with prestige in higher education.

Yet many college applicants and their families continue to reference the rankings during their admissions process. U.S. News’ methodology evaluates data submitted by the university based on factors including graduation rates, earnings among graduates by major and student-faculty ratio.

This year’s rankings evaluated over 1,700 institutions. They also marked the end of Princeton’s 15-year streak at the top of the rankings. 

According to U.S. News, MIT rose to first place because of high test scores for its incoming class, faculty research metrics and student income following graduation.

The company notes on its website that “no ranking by itself can determine which college is best for any student.”