News Brief: YU Climbs to 98 in College Rankings and Chess Club Hosts YU’s First-Ever Intercollegiate Tournament
YU Climbs to 98 in 2025 U.S. News & World Report Rankings for National Universities
Yeshiva University climbed to No. 98 in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings for National Universities, up from No. 105 last year.
The results, which were released on Sept. 24, saw YU recover from major declines seen in recent years’ rankings. For example, in 2017, YU dropped 28 spots to 94th place after spending significant time among the 40s and 50s. Last year, the university was ranked as 105th.
According to the report, YU is now tied with Florida International University, Gonzaga University, Rutgers University–Camden, Temple University, University of Colorado Boulder and University of Iowa.
YU also secured No. 54 in Best Value Schools and No. 280 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, a category that measures a university’s effectiveness in enrolling and graduating students from lower-income backgrounds. YU’s overall score stands at 64 out of 100, with a 79% four-year graduation rate, a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and 65% of classes having fewer than 20 students.
The most popular majors at YU include biology (14% of graduates), psychology (14%), accounting (9%), finance (8%) and interdisciplinary studies (8%), according to the report.
Yeshiva University Chess Club Hosts the University’s First-Ever Intercollegiate Chess Tournament
Yeshiva University’s Chess Club hosted its first Intercollegiate Chess Tournament in September, drawing students from over 10 New York City universities.
The event, held at Koch Auditorium on YU’s Beren Campus, had nearly 90 registrants, with over 55 students in attendance. It was organized by the Chess Club, with Wilf president of the chess club David Yagudayev (YC ‘25), as Chief Organizer and Ean Fish (YC ‘26) serving as Tournament Director.
Participating universities included Columbia University, Brooklyn College, Macaulay Honors College, Queens College, City College of New York, Fashion Institute of Technology, Fordham University, Baruch College, Touro’s Lander College for Men and YU.
The tournament began with check-in at 10:30 a.m. and featured five rounds of chess. A lunch break was provided in between rounds, followed by a speech from grandmaster and YU graduate Semyon Lomasov (YC ‘24). The event concluded with an award ceremony, in which awards were given in beginner, intermediate and advanced categories.
YU students performed well, with Bryan Weisz (YC ‘26) placing second in the advanced section, Yosef Bensimon (SSSB ‘27) taking third and Rone Meir Edery (SSSB ‘27) winning first place in the beginner section.
“We were super happy to host the first NY Chess League Inter-Collegiate Chess Tournament this academic year,” Yagudayev told The Commentator. “It was an amazing event and awesome experience that fostered competitive chess between 10+ college chess clubs.”
“We are only going to continue to grow and look forward to hosting and creating more amazing events in the future.”
Photo caption: Yeshiva University
Photo credit: Yeshiva University
