U.S. News & World Report Ranks Carleton Sixth Among National Liberal Arts Colleges

For the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Carleton College among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the nation. Carleton placed sixth this year in the magazine’s annual rankings of the best colleges in the country, up from an eighth-place ranking last year.

The rankings take into account the academic reputation of the school, admissions selectivity, retention and graduation rates, class size, financial resources, and alumni giving, among other factors.

In academic reputation, Carleton received a score of 4.5 on a 5.0 scale to rank fifth overall. To determine reputation, the magazine tallied survey results from college presidents, deans and admissions directors at schools similar to Carleton.

Carleton ranked 10th in faculty resources, up from last year’s ranking of 12th in that category. The magazine also ranked the College fourth in alumni giving, with a 58 percent alumni giving rate. Carleton’s acceptance rate is listed as 46 percent.

Carleton is the only Midwestern college listed among the top 10 schools. The top three national liberal arts colleges this year, according to the report, are Amherst College in Massachusetts, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, and Williams College, also in Massachusetts.

U.S. News & World Report also ranked Carleton 14th in the nation in its category for best college value. The magazine measures value by relating a school’s academic quality, as indicated by its overall U.S. News ranking, with the net cost to a student who receives the average level of financial aid.