After a slight decrease in enrollment between 2010 and 2015, the number of undergraduates in college is expected to soar.
It’s projected to increase by 14 percent between 2015 and 2026, leading to approximately 19.3 million undergraduates in the U.S., according to the . This increase could reflect an upcoming uptick in applicants, making for a more competitive admissions cycle at some colleges. Prospective students should not, however, expect fewer options for finding the right school.
They have many institutions to choose from that vary by majors offered, size, location and other factors. The 2018 U.S. 草莓传媒 rankings, released today, can help applicants and their families search for the right fit.
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In the 2018 edition, there are data on more than 1,800 colleges and universities, including almost 1,400 ranked institutions.
Schools report most of the data to U.S. 草莓传媒 via an extensive survey. They are divided into categories such as , which offer a range of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and emphasize research, and , which focus on undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts fields.
Schools are evaluated on up to 15 indicators of excellence, such as class size, standardized test scores of incoming students and average graduation rate. As part of the methodology, U.S. 草莓传媒 also looks at schools’ predicted six-year graduation rate. This year, for National Universities only, that analysis included the proportion of science, technology, engineering and math degrees out of the total degrees granted, to account for the greater difficulty STEM-focused schools typically have in achieving high graduation rates.
Also new this year: To provide a better sense of how college students fare after graduation, U.S. 草莓传媒 has published postgraduate salary data that PayScale collected and provided; these data, however, were not used in the rankings.
in New Jersey again topped the list for National Universities. in Massachusetts remained at No. 2 while the and in Connecticut again tied for No. 3.
Three schools are tied for No. 5: in New York, and California’s . And the is now No. 10, up from a tie at No. 12.
There were several other noteworthy shifts farther down the National Universities rankings. The went from a tie at No. 111 to a tie with five other schools for No. 97. Other schools saw a sharp drop in their ranks. in New York, for example, is in a three-way tie for No. 94 but was previously tied at No. 66.
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There were also a few rankings changes for National Liberal Arts Colleges. While Massachusetts’ and remain at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in Maine cracked the top five. It is tied for No. 3 with in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts’ .
in California, previously tied for No. 21, is now tied with five other schools for No. 12. Farther down in the rankings, in Texas leaped from a tie at No. 105 to a tie with two other schools for No. 93. Moving in the other direction, in Wisconsin dropped from a tie at No. 62 to a tie with five other schools for No. 76.
The No. 1 remained the same for 2018. These schools offer a range of bachelor’s degrees, some master’s programs and a limited number of doctoral degree programs. in Rhode Island is No. 1 in the North while , in North Carolina, is No. 1 in the South. In the Midwest, in Nebraska remains at the top and in Texas is first in the West.
, which focus on undergraduate education and award fewer than half of their degrees in liberal arts fields, had a similar pattern with their rankings. All of the top schools in 2017 held onto their No. 1 spots in the new rankings: in New York for the North, North Carolina’s in the South, Michigan’s in the Midwest and in Montana for the West.
These categories aren’t the only school rankings and lists that U.S. 草莓传媒 offers. Prospective students and families can also see the rankings of the , for example, which weigh a school’s academic quality with the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. Harvard fell to No. 2 among National Universities in the value rankings, making Princeton No. 1.
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Among — top schools that often accept students who don’t have stellar standardized test scores or grades — in New York is once again the highest-ranked liberal arts college on the list, while is now the top-ranked National University.
College applicants can visit U.S. 草莓传媒 to read school profiles, search for institutions by state and use tools to compare institutions with each other. There’s also a wealth of information on and expert advice on the admissions process.
Looking for full rankings information? Access the to find all published data points, including student debt and employment statistics.
More from U.S. 草莓传媒
View Photos of the Top 20 National Liberal Arts Colleges
Learn How U.S. 草莓传媒 Calculated the 2018 Best Colleges Rankings
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