Wheaton News

U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges highlights value and academic quality

Wheaton College, for the second consecutive year, has been recognized among the top 100 Best Value U.S. Liberal Arts Colleges and Best National Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, which were released today.

The accolades are among several that Wheaton has received in 2021 noting innovation spaces; affordable, high-quality education; and ongoing work toward gender equality and reduction in inequities.

Wheaton is ranked No. 53 in the Best Value U.S. Liberal Arts Colleges category and No. 85 overall in the U.S. Best Liberal Arts Colleges category in U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges. Wheaton made the list of A-plus Schools for B students, which notes colleges with strong rankings that accept students who have a range of test scores and GPAs.

Wheaton also was one of the schools that performed well in the social mobility category. On the 2022 Top Performers on Social Mobility list, Wheaton now is ranked No. 115—moving up from No. 126 in 2021. The ranking measures the extent schools enrolled and graduated students who received federal Pell Grants. (Usually, the students come from lower-income households).

According to the U.S. News & World Report website: “Economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college, even when controlling for other characteristics. But some colleges are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants.”

The latest edition assesses 1,466 U.S. bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on 17 measures of academic quality. To determine which colleges and universities offer the best value for students, U.S. News & World Report states that it factors academic quality and cost after accounting for total expenses and financial aid.

The information used to calculate the 2022 rankings was collected during the spring and summer of 2021 via a statistical survey of colleges that was conducted online. Along with academic quality, graduation rates, social mobility, graduate indebtedness, faculty information and admissions data are considered.

In the Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education US College Rankings 2022, released on Tuesday, September 21, Wheaton College is No. 57 among U.S. liberal arts schools.

The rankings include the results of a student survey that examines a range of key issues, including students’ engagement with their studies, their interaction with their teachers and their satisfaction with their experience. The rankings also take into consideration 15 individual performance indicators that are combined to create an overall score that reflects the broad strength of the institution.

Wheaton also is included in The Princeton Review’s 2022 edition of The Best 387 Colleges and among the top 100 liberal arts colleges (No. 97) in Niche’s 2022 Best Colleges in America rankings.

The Niche rankings compare more than 1,000 top colleges and universities in the U.S. and are based on the analysis of academic, admissions, financial and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with millions of reviews from students and alumni, according to Niche’s website.

In August, Newsweek named Wheaton College on “The Best Maker Schools 2021” list that includes higher education institutions in the U.S. and abroad. The list highlights schools that encourage learning by doing.

In April, Wheaton also earned recognition in The Princeton Review Best Value Colleges for 2021 for providing a high-quality education with great career preparation at an affordable price and in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for gender equality and reducing inequities.