Academy ranks high in best colleges report Published July 30, 2015 U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Forbes Magazine ranked the Air Force Academy as one of the top universities in the nation with its 2015 annual rankings of America's Top Colleges, released July 29. Forbes listed the Academy as the 38th best university in the nation, just ahead of William and Mary and Colgate University. The report ranked the Academy as the sixth-best university in the west, between the University of California at Berkeley at number five and the University of California at Los Angeles at number seven. The top-ranked schools on the list are Pomona College, followed by Williams College and Stanford University. School rankings are based on a formula rating based on low debt, high graduation rates, student satisfaction and career success. At the Academy, the student-faculty ratio is eight- to- one, its average class has 20 students, and all faculty members are full-time employees. Visit www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list for more information.