While colleges and universities across the country spend the month of August preparing for the beginning of a new school year, with some even beginning in the 8th month of the year, the annual college rankings of both the U.S. News & World Report describe their selections of the nation’s best colleges in various categories. Though Princeton still ranks #1 as the top national university in the United States within the U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 edition of “American’s Best Colleges,” The Claremont Colleges continue to rank among the best according to the two publications with all 5 undergraduate schools ranking within the top 50 on the current list of top liberal arts institutions. “To have all of our undergraduate colleges rank in the top 50—we’re all delighted,” said Barbara Jefferson, Claremont University Consortium director of advancement. “It really speaks to the quality of the colleges and it is just remarkable.”
Harvey Mudd One of the top honors among the colleges and universities was found at Harvey Mudd College, which was selected first overall in a tie with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, for the nation’s best undergraduate engineering non-doctoral program by U.S. News & World Report. The ranking marks the second straight year that Harvey Mudd has been rated top in the respective category, to go along with its placing of 15th overall in the “Top Liberal Arts Colleges” category. “The national ranking of our accredited general engineering program is another strong indication of our success, and of our ongoing innovation in education,” said Ziyad Duron, chair of the Department of Engineering at Harvey Mudd. “What is especially pleasing is that this ranking comes from the assessment of our peers across the US, most of whom come from traditional discipline-specific programs.” Along with the two high spots Harvey Mudd received, the college ranked first in selectivity within the “Top Liberal Arts Colleges” category, as well as had the highest percentage of freshmen who ranked in the top 10-percent in their high school class and the highest SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile (1420-1550) among its incoming students. “We’re extraordinarily pleased to have earned this recognition,” said Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College. “It is a reflection of our dedication to teaching and research in engineering, science and mathematics with an emphasis on producing outstanding graduates who are well-versed in the humanities and social sciences.”
Pomona College Among the “Top Liberal Arts Colleges” overall listings, Pomona College nabbed 7th place out of the local undergraduate colleges and universities in the area. In the “Best Value” subcategory, Pomona fared well, placing 4th behind Massachusetts’s Williams, Amherst and Wellesley Colleges. Founded in 1887, Pomona College is the oldest of The Claremont Colleges with a 120-year history and also has the highest number of undergraduates numbering more than 1500.
Claremont McKenna Just 4 spots below Pomona College on the overall list is Claremont McKenna College, who tied for 11th with Grinnell College, Vassar College and Wesleyan University. The college that used to be named “Claremont Men’s College,” before the change to its current name in 1981, also ranked 5th in lowest student debt load, 10th in lowest acceptance rate, 14th in economic diversity and 15th in racial diversity. “In the last 20 years, Claremont McKenna College has been recognized as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News & World Report,” said Richard Vos, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at Claremont McKenna. “We’re pleased to be among such good company.”
Pitzer Ranked 51st in the 2007 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” Pitzer College improved in this year’s rankings, taking 49th place overall in the nation among liberal arts colleges. It was Pitzer College’s rise that allowed all 5 Claremont undergraduate institutions to finish in the top 50 among more than 260 liberal arts schools this year. The current placing also points to the effectiveness of the leadership of Pitzer College President Laura Trombley, as the school has gone from 70th place to 49th within her current 5-year term as president. Yet Ms. Trombley believes how students select a school should be based on more than just how a school ranks in a national poll. “While we are pleased that our college continues to perform well in the annual U.S. News & World Report’s rankings, our admissions office recommends that prospective students explore their options on numerous levels beyond the college ranking books,” Ms. Trombley said in a released statement. “The right fit for prospective students translates into matching the mission and core values of the college.”
Scripps Taking 28th place overall in the U.S. News & World Report’s liberal arts standings, Scripps College is also on The Princeton Review’s current 165 Best Value Colleges listing, ranking 9th on the Top 10 Best Value Private Colleges list. Out of the 366 colleges ranked by The Princeton Review, Scripps is 4th in the “Dorms Like Palaces” category, 11th for Most Beautiful Campus and 12th for Best Campus Food.
Cal Poly Pomona Other local college standouts include Cal Poly Pomona, who ranks 6th in this year’s U.S. News & World Report listings for “Top Public Universities-Master’s” (a program that extends from undergraduate to doctorate) in the western United States. When compared with both public and private universities in the “Top Universities-Master’s” category, Cal Poly Pomona ranked 31st in the top tier of Western schools with undergraduate and master’s programs. Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Engineering continues to be highly ranked in the category of “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs – Master’s,” this year placing 16th in the nation. As a whole, the university continues to be one of the most diverse campuses in the nation (with a 0.70 diversity index that is 0.03 less than the most diverse campus in the country) and also offers an affordable high-quality education with a full-year tuition under $3000. “When you come on our campus, you can tell how different people are from one another. We have a lot of diversity on campus,” said Uyen Mai, Cal Poly Pomona media specialist. “Also at Cal Poly, we’ve always been proud of how we are able to keep higher education really affordable.”
La Verne, Azusa Pacific The University of La Verne and Azusa Pacific University rounded out the local colleges as part of the U.S. News & World Report rankings, being named to Tier 3 of the national universities list. Tier 3 represents the schools that are just below the colleges and universities that are rated in the top 50 percentile but still rank strongly throughout the country.
Rankings cause discussion The current edition of U.S. News & World Report with the college rankings has been out at newsstands since Monday. Whether schools agree with their rankings in the U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review or disagree, the annual reports by the publications do spark conversation and attract attention each year. “Americans like to have lists and like to simplify information that comes from complex components,” Mr. Vos said. “U.S. News & World Report’s Best College rankings are controversial among some people in higher education because of the methodology used. There’s been recent controversy about the validity of the rankings and colleges questioning whether to participate. It definitely makes for good discussion.”
—Landus Rigsby
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August 22, 2007
August 22, 2007