The University of Illinois moved up two spots from last year — from 47 to 45 — in the U.S. News and World Report 2012 best colleges ranking.
The rankings are determined by categories such as academic life, financial resources of the school and selectivity.
The University was tied with Pennsylvania State University—University Park, the University of California—Irvine, the University of Texas—Austin and Yeshiva University for the 45th spot.
Harvard and Princeton tied for the No. 1 spot this year.
