Georgia colleges at the top of the class in U.S. News rankings
Several Georgia colleges and universities are enjoying national acclaim in closely watched academic rankings.
U.S. News & World Report on Monday released the 37th edition of its annual rankings of the nation’s top colleges and universities. A few Georgia schools were ranked first, or highly, in several categories. The categories included liberal arts, most innovative, best value, top schools for military veterans and the best overall school. The publication used factors such as graduation rates, graduate debt, admissions data and peer assessment to determine the rankings.
The rankings are widely read and used by many students to determine what college they’ll attend. Critics have complained about the publication’s methodology and bias in favor of traditionally prestigious schools.
Here are ten takeaways from the rankings:
- Emory ranked 21st among national universities, the highest of any Georgia college or university. Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia cracked the top 50, tied for 38th and at 48th, respectively. Five of the top eight national universities were Ivy League schools, with Princeton University ranked again at the top of the list.
- Georgia Tech was the tenth-ranked national public university. The University of Georgia ranked 16th.
- Agnes Scott College ranked first in two categories, the most innovative liberal arts college and for first-year student experience.
- Berry College was ranked as the best value regional university in the South. Its annual cost is about $54,450 with discounts totaling half of the cost.
- Spelman College, for the 15th consecutive year, was ranked as the nation’s best historically Black college and university. Morehouse College was tied with Hampton and Tuskegee universities for fourth. Clark Atlanta University tied with Jackson State University in Mississippi for 18th on the list.
- Georgia State and Georgia Tech ranked second and fourth, respectively, as the most innovative national universities.
- Emory was tied with the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as the nation’s fourth best undergraduate nursing program, a new category.
- Georgia Tech tied for 16th with three other schools among national universities in the best college for military veterans rankings. The University of North Georgia was the highest-ranked regional public Georgia university in the South.
- Spelman was 54th among national liberal arts schools, the highest ranking of any Georgia college or university. Agnes Scott was 66th, second among Georgia schools.
- Agnes Scott had the fourth highest-ranked study abroad program.
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
