Gustavus Moves Up in U.S. News & World Report Rankings

Gustavus Adolphus College is ranked No. 64 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges list, which was released on Tuesday, Sept. 9. This is the highest Gustavus has appeared on the list in recent history and represents a jump of 12 spots from the publication’s 2014 rankings when the College was ranked No. 76 among liberal arts colleges. 

“These college rankings shine a positive light on Gustavus and are a great conversation starter for prospective students and their families,” Gustavus President Rebecca M. Bergman said. “We are proud of the outstanding liberal arts education we provide our students and are dedicated to our mission of preparing students for lives of leadership and service. We welcome interested students to come visit our campus and see for themselves why Gustavus is such a special place.”

U.S. News & World Report has been publishing college rankings since 1985 and is widely considered to be the most respected resource for parents and prospective students when it comes to such rankings. TheU.S. News methodology is based on several key measures of quality including graduation and retention rates (22.5%), assessment of excellence (22.5%), faculty resources (20%), student selectivity (12.5%), financial resources (10%), graduation rate performance (7.5%), and alumni giving (5%).

A total of 233 liberal arts colleges are included in this year’s list. The top 178 schools are ranked one through 178, while another 55 schools are listed alphabetically under the label “Second Tier” schools. The entire list and accompanying data can be found online at usnews.com/rankings. 

Several other publications have also recently released college rankings. Washington Monthly magazine recently named Gustavus the 63^rd best liberal arts college in the country and also ranked the College No. 21 in its “Best Bang For Your Buck” category. Niche, formerly College Prowler, grouped liberal arts colleges and national universities together and ranked Gustavus No. 125 out of 892 schools in the country. Niche also highlighted the Gustavus Dining Service by placing the College at No. 7 on its Best Campus Food list.