Washington University in St. Louis — consistently ranked among America’s 20 best national universities — is now ranked 12th in the best value category titled “Great schools, great prices,” an increase of two spots over last year, according to new undergraduate rankings released by U.S. News & World Report magazine.
The university is tied with Northwestern University for 11th place in undergraduate programs among the nation’s best national universities.
The top-20 national universities are:
1. (tie) Harvard University
Princeton University
3. Yale University
4. University of Pennsylvania
5. (tie) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Duke University
Stanford University
8. California Institute of Technology
9. (tie) Dartmouth College
Columbia University
11. (tie) Washington University in St. Louis
Northwestern University
13. Brown University
14. (tie) Cornell University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Chicago
17. Rice University
18. (tie) University of Notre Dame
Vanderbilt University
20. Emory University
Washington University dropped one place from a tie for ninth with Dartmouth College to a tie for 11th with Northwestern University among the 248 national universities rated by U.S. News.
The U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings are derived from peer assessments by university CEOs, provosts and admissions deans, as well as from data gathered from each institution, and these data are broken down into categories and assigned a weight reflecting the magazine’s judgment about which measures of quality matter most.
This year’s results, to be published in the weekly edition of U.S. News and its America’s Best Colleges guide, both available Aug. 23, rank the university as fourth in financial resources; sixth in faculty resources, an increase of five spots; eighth in selectivity, an increase of one spot; ninth in alumni giving; and 12th in best value.
A complete list of rankings will be posted on USNews.com at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) Aug. 20.
The formula used to determine which schools offer the best value relates a school’s academic quality, as indicated by its U.S. News ranking, to the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of financial aid. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal.
“I believe we are a better university than we were a year ago,” said Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. “Our focus continues to be on the quality of our students, faculty programs and facilities, and I think that is reflected in our ranking as 12th in overall value. We have improved dramatically in all those areas, and we are working hard to continue that improvement.”
The university’s John M. Olin School of Business is ranked as the 11th best business school among national universities, tied with Indiana University and University of Illinois. It is an increase over the school’s ranking of 14th a year ago. The Olin School also ranked 17th in finance.
“We are delighted at this recognition from U.S. News,” said Stuart I. Greenbaum, Ph.D., dean of the Olin School of Business and Bank of America Professor of Managerial Leadership. “Our program has improved from year to year and is among the most distinguished in the nation. This is a product of our outstanding students and faculty and a commitment to excellence that is unswerving.”
The School of Engineering and Applied Science is ranked 39th, tied with seven other schools, including Brown, Notre Dame and Michigan State.