For a second-straight year, a small college in Massachusetts has beaten out some very big names in higher education on the Wall Street Journal's ranking of the best universities in America. 

Babson College in Wellesley was ranked second again, behind only Stanford University on the newspaper's list. Harvard University was 5th, and MIT was No. 11.

The Journal says its list looks different from other school rankings because its main focus is determining how well a college prepares its students for financial success.

"97.7% of our undergraduates who graduate have a job or are in grad school within six months after that graduation, and their average starting salary is well over $77,500," Babson's vice president of enrollment management Ruthanne Madsen told WBZ-TV.

Focus on entrepreneurship

The newspaper highlighted Babson's entrepreneurial focus that begins as soon as students arrive on campus. The Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship course gives groups of students up to $3,000 to start their own business.

"We offer our new, first-time students in their first year coming in the opportunity to create, to launch businesses," Madsen said. "That really is the difference."

Babson has about 2,800 undergraduates and 1,100 graduate students.The total cost of attending Babson this year is more than $84,000 for tuition, housing and fees. With financial aid factored in, the school says a family with an annual income of $120,000 would be expected to contribute about $22,000 out-of-pocket.

Ranking Massachusetts colleges

Other states making the top 100 in The Journal's rankings are Bentley University in Waltham at No. 12, Holy Cross at No. 58, Amherst College at No. 60 and WPI at 99th.

Earlier this month, a U.S. News & World Report ranking of the country's best colleges put MIT at No. 2, followed by Harvard at No. 3. But Madsen said she's encouraged that more rankings seem to be looking at "what really does matter" to families when they're making colleges decisions.

"The return on investment, the value proposition has real meaning," she said. "And that's something that Babson has been able to deliver on for many years, and it's great to see that acknowledgement."