The University of Georgia is No. 1 — in the college football rankings. On WalletHub’s list of the best colleges and universities, however, it’s No. 64.
To determine the top-performing schools at the lowest costs to undergrads, the financial website compared 857 colleges and universities across seven key dimensions: student selectivity; cost and financing; faculty resources; campus safety; campus experience; educational outcomes; and career outcomes.
It then evaluated those dimensions using 30 relevant metrics, each of which was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best school performance.
Three Georgia schools finished in the top 100, with one making into the top 20.
With an overall score of 74.02, Georgia Institute of Technology ranked No. 16 in the nation. In each of the seven categories, Georgia Tech was:
- Student selectivity: 45th
- Cost and financing: 613th
- Faculty resources: 765th
- Campus safety: 260th
- Campus experience: 197th
- Educational outcomes: 32nd
- Career outcomes: 13th
Within the state of Georgia, the Yellow Jackets were again No. 1, WalletHub determined, ranking:
- Graduation rate: 1st
- Post-attendance median salary: 1st
- Admission rate: 2nd
- Gender and racial diversity: 6th
- On-campus crime: 10th
- Net cost: 26th
- Student-faculty ratio: 28th
Emory University finished at No. 31 nationwide, with an overall score of 72.54. In each of the seven categories, the school ranked:
- Student selectivity: 37th
- Cost and financing: 805th
- Faculty resources: 94th
- Campus safety: 247th
- Campus experience: 21st
- Educational outcomes: 37th
- Career outcomes: 60th
Within the state, however, it was No. 2, ranking:
- Admission rate: 1st
- Graduation rate: 2nd
- Post-attendance median salary: 2nd
- Student-faculty ratio: 2nd
- Gender and racial diversity: 3rd
- On-campus crime: 19th
- Net cost: 32nd
At the University of Georgia, an overall score of 67.6 put it at No. 64 nationwide. In each of the seven categories, the school ranked:
- Student selectivity: 89th
- Cost and financing: 251st
- Faculty resources: 614th
- Campus safety: 656th
- Campus experience: 488th
- Educational outcomes: 57th
- Career outcomes: 262nd
Those numbers placed the Bulldogs at No. 3 in Georgia, ranking:
- Graduation rate:
- Post-attendance median salary: 3rd
- Admission rate: 4th
- Gender and racial diversity: 21st
- On-campus crime: 26th
- Net cost: 14th
- Student-faculty ratio: 19th
- Graduation rate: 3rd
A few Georgia schools had some inauspicious rankings.
Middle Georgia State University, for example, tied for 849th in admission rate. Georgia State University was near the bottom of the pack for student-faculty ratio, tying for 853rd place. Brewton-Parker College and Georgia Gwinnett College tied for the 854th spot in graduation rates. Brewton-Parker also tied for 852nd in student loan default rate and was No. 826 for return on educational investment. That was still three places higher than Emmanuel College, which came in at No. 829.
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