UChicago Stays Third in US News Rankings

U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2018″ rankings hit the streets today, and Sweet Briar College has climbed six spots to land at No. 134 on the National Liberal Arts Colleges list. A year ago, Howard University recorded an 11-point improvement. “We are very proud of that status and find it to be one of our primary attractions for our new and transfer students”.

Currently, the university’s overall retention rate for baccalaureate students is 88 percent, up from 84.7 percent five years ago and up from 80 percent 10 years ago. This year Berkeley, UCLA, University of Southern California and Emory University are tied. Eight Indian institutions have been listed in the top 100 in the ranking launched in 2015 to look beyond traditional measures such as research strength and academic reputation.

Princeton University clinched the top spot again this year in the U.S. News and World Report annual national university rankings.

“Texas A&M University is one of the best values in American higher education”, John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, says.

The rankings are determined by university statistics including assessments by administrators at peer schools, first-year retention rate, financial resources and alumni giving, according to its website. It produces a number of lists, including The “Best National Universities“, which is the most cited college ranking.

High rankings are often cited by school officials as a sort of seal of approval to prospective students and parents.

In addition, UCI scored highly – 18 – among all national universities for the least amount of student debt at graduation.

Gov. Greg Abbott has said he wants to see five Texas universities among the nation’s top 10 public schools.

Tulane is ranked 40th among “Best National Universities” and its undergraduate business school is 45th among the nation’s “Best Business Programs“. It has also secured the top position in the subject of environmental studies and has rank 10 in the world university rankings of Times Higher Education. Creighton also maintained its place at the top of the “Best College for Veterans” ranking in the Midwest, as well as earning a No. 3 spot for “Most Innovative Schools“. Each indicator was assigned a weight (expressed as a percentage) based on U.S. News’ judgments about which measures of quality matter most.

Many higher education experts warn the U.S. News rankings should be taken with a grain of salt.