The annual college rankings done by U.S. News & World Report offer quite a bit of prestige for schools that are listed at or near the top of the standings.

This year's list, released Tuesday, is no different, though it does seem as if the top-ranked schools rarely change. The list of top-10 colleges and universities, as ranked by U.S. News, offers barely a new face among the rankings.

Ivy League schools are still considered tops, with Nos. 1 through 4 all in that storied conference. Princeton was ranked as the top school in the U.S., followed by Harvard, Yale and Columbia, which was tied with Stanford and the University of Chicago in fourth position.

Rounding out the top-10 colleges in America are Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania and California Institute of Technology.

The only change from last year's list was that Dartmouth College fell out of the rankings.

In its rankings, U.S. News considers about 630 public four-year schools, 1,845 private four-year colleges and 1,070 two-year colleges.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that studies have shown that the U.S. News rankings have an effect on both schools where students apply and where they attend. Studies have also found that schools have been dishonest in the figures they send to U.S. News, and since 2012 five school have admitted to submitting false data.

U.S. News also comes out with other college lists, like best regional universities, best value, most ethnic diversity and best study abroad opportunities, among others.

The rankings include several factors, including undergraduate graduations and retention rates, assessment of excellence, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving

U.S. News also used input from academic peers and guidance counselors when making their rankings.