Ten Lehigh Valley schools have made it onto the 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list.
Ten Lehigh Valley schools have made it onto this year’s U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list.
On Monday, U.S. News released the 2022-23 rankings, which allow students to compare the quality of the education offered by 1,500 American colleges and universities. Data was collected from schools in spring and summer of 2022, and ACT and SAT scores reflect testing periods from 2020 to 2021, according to U.S. News.
The rankings evaluate schools based on 17 metrics of academic quality, with the most weight placed on outcome measures, such as graduation and retention rates and average graduate indebtedness. U.S. News additionally focuses on such factors as graduation rates, retention rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility. Outcomes contribute about 40% to each school’s overall score.
Schools are then broken into categories — National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Colleges and Regional Universities — by their mission. Regional colleges and universities are split into eight categories based on geographic location and whether master’s degrees are offered.
Once separated, U.S. News collects data on each school before the schools in each category are ranked against their peers. More information about the report’s methodology can be found here.
Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News, said in a statement for nearly four decades, the “Best Colleges” methodology has continuously evolved to reflect changes in the higher education landscape and the interests of prospective students.
“Guiding that evolution is U.S. News’ mission of providing useful data and information to help with one of life’s biggest decisions,” she said.
This year’s rankings included the following changes and updates:
Other changes to the rankings can be found here.
Lehigh University in Bethlehem came in at the 51st spot on the National Universities list, tying with other schools.
New Jersey’s Princeton University once again earned the No. 1 spot on this list of schools that offer undergrad degrees and master’s and doctoral programs. Notable alumni at Princeton include U.S. President Woodrow Wilson; model/actress Brooke Shields; and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Universities ranked are all research schools. Here’s how Lehigh Valley-based schools fared:
Lehigh University in Bethlehem came in at the 51st spot, tying with other schools.
The university has four colleges, with numerous undergraduate and graduate majors. Its well-regarded graduate programs include the College of Education and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act originated at Lehigh, requiring colleges to reveal crimes on campus.
It’s also considered a best value in this category, ranking 24th. While the total cost of Lehigh tuition was $59,930, the cost after receiving grants is $25,552. About 42% of students receive need-based grants.
Its undergraduate engineering program landed at a tied No. 45 for programs that award doctorates.
Penn State’s main campus performed well, ending up on several ranking lists.
It landed 77th overall in national universities, tying with such other schools as Stony Brook University in New York and Michigan State University. It landed 31st in Top Public Schools, tying with such other schools as Clemson University and Michigan State University.
It was also declared one of the best engineering schools that awards doctorates (number 22 and tied with others, including the University of Washington and University of Pennsylvania).
It also clocked in at No. 207 on the national universities Best Value list.
The Upper Saucon Township school ranked No. 285 on the national list and tied with such schools as the University of Hawaii and North Dakota State University. The school previously ranked 73rd in last year’s Regional Universities North list.
(DeSales’ Carnegie classification in 2021 changed from a Master’s Colleges and University to a Doctoral/Professional University, which moved DeSales out of the U.S. News & World Report’s Regional North ranking category to the National Universities ranking category. The change reflects an increase in the number of doctoral programs that DeSales offers).
The Catholic university additionally ranked No. 361 as a Top Performer on Social Mobility, tied with such schools as Carnegie Mellon University and Villanova University. Top social mobility performance rankings are based on a school’s success in enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students who were awarded Pell Grants.
The school also ranked No. 413 in undergraduate nursing programs, tied with other schools; and ranked A+ for B students.
Lafayette College in Easton earned high marks for its liberal arts education, landing 39th on the National Liberal Arts College list. It tied with other schools.
This category highlights schools that award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of study. Williams College in Massachusetts continues to earn the Top 1 spot, where it’s been for several years in over a decade. The college is one of the oldest in the country.
Here’s how Lehigh Valley-based schools fared:
Lafayette College in Easton earned high marks for its liberal arts education, landing 39th on the national liberal arts college list. It tied with other schools, such as Denison University in Ohio and Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.
Lafayette’s engineering program ranked 12th on the best engineering programs list for schools whose highest degree awarded is a bachelor or master’s degree. It tied at 63rd place for having the Best Undergraduate Teaching programs.
Lafayette also was declared a Best Value in liberal arts schools with a rank of No. 77. While tuition at Lafayette sets you back $58,618 annually, the actual annual cost is $30,251 after grants. About 35% of students receive need-based grants.
Muhlenberg College in Allentown landed at No. 76 on the best National Liberal Arts College list. It tied with other schools, such as the New College of Florida and Willamette University in Oregon.
The school also landed at No. 62 on the Best Value liberal arts ranking. Muhlenberg’s $58,005 annual tuition can be reduced to $31,985 through grants. About 64% of students receive need-based aid. It also tied at the No. 51 spot, along with such other schools as Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and Cornell College in Iowa, for Most Innovative Schools.
Moravian University in Bethlehem landed at No. 36 on the Regional Universities North list.
These schools offer a full range of undergraduate programs, some master’s degree programs but few doctoral programs. The categories are further broken down into four geographic regions. The top spot went to Providence College in Rhode Island, the only college in the nation operated by Dominican Friars.
Here’s how Lehigh Valley-area schools fared:
Moravian University in Bethlehem landed at No. 36 on the Regional Universities North list. It also ranked No. 43 in Best Colleges for Veterans.
It ranked No. 34 in Best Value with its $50,500 annual tuition having the ability to be reduced to $36,699 through grants. About 82% of students receive need-based aid.
Cedar Crest College in Allentown ranked No. 81 on the best regional colleges north list, tying with such schools as CUNY-Lehman College in Bronx, New York and Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania.
The college ranked No. 7 as one of the Top Performers on Social Mobility; No. 50 for Best Colleges for Veterans; and No. 528 in nursing, tying with other schools. It ranked No. 28 in Best Value Schools, in which its $43,643 tuition can be reduced to $30,759 after grants. About 90% of students receive need-based grants.
Kutztown University in Kutztown, Berks County is ranked No. 121 on the best regional universities north list. It’s tied with such schools at St. Joseph’s College in Maine and Nichols College in Massachusetts.
It came in at No. 136 tied as one of the Top Performers on Social Mobility and No. 44 in Top Public Schools.
East Stroudsburg University in Monroe County made the best regional universities north list but was not assigned a ranking number. It performed between No. 133 to No. 175.
It additionally landed No. 136 as one of the Top Performers on Social Mobility and No, 610 in nursing, both tied with other schools.
The Hackettstown, Warren County, school is on the best regional universities north list, but is not assigned a numeric ranking. It performed between No. 133 to No. 175.
The school additionally ranked No. 22 tied as one of the Top Performers on Social Mobility.
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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
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