emory

Emory has maintained its No. 21 spot for the second consecutive year in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 “Best Colleges” ranking, which was released this morning. This year’s ranking remains consistent with the ranking in 2015, the first time Emory fell out of its top 20 spot since 1994. 

U.S. News & World Report assessed colleges using categories such as retention, faculty resources, selectivity and graduation rate performance, according to their website.

Regardless, Claire Sterk, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, commended Emory’s leadership in research, discovery and innovation internationally, according to a Sept. 9 University press release

“We consistently rank high in a variety of national surveys that convey aspects of our identity, from the strength of our academic programs, to the quality of faculty teaching and research, to the value of an Emory undergraduate experience for students,” Sterk said.  

Emory persists as No. 18 among national universities to offer “best value” education, which is based on academic quality and amount of need-based financial aid given to students, according to the press release.

The press release also noted the economic diversity in Emory’s undergraduate community, with 21 percent of its undergraduates receiving need-based Pell Grants and 15 percent of its undergraduates as international students, according to the U.S. News & World Report.

The Princeton Review and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance also cite Emory as being a best value among private universities. 

In addition, Emory’s Goizueta Business School maintains its rank at No. 15. Its rank is determined separately from Emory’s undergraduate college and is based on a peer survey of deans and senior faculty, according to the press release. 

Overall, Emory has been cited as one of the top research universities (Leiden Ranking) and as having one of the best college libraries (Princeton Review).  

Similar to responses last year, students have expressed no change of opinion of Emory. 

“I think Emory’s ranking influenced me a lot before coming here, but then I got here and met good teachers,” College sophomore Trieste Francis said. “That made me decide what rank Emory is. Ultimately, I picked Emory not because of a list.”   

In a September 2014 Wheel article, some students expressed their hope that Emory would re-emerge as a top 20 college after last fall’s ranking update.

“I ran into the good and bad of everything, whether they were teachers, classes or students,” Francis said. 

 

Correction (9/9 at 12:50 p.m.): In paragraph twelve, the article stated,”Nancy Seideman, associate vice president of communications, and some students, expressed their hope…” The article was amended to remove Nancy Seidman from this sentence as her previous sentiments differed slightly from students’. 

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anwesha.guha@emory.edu | Anwesha Guha (18C) is from Montgomery, Ala., majoring in English and quantitative science with a concentration in biology. She served most recently as news editor. In addition to the Wheel, she researches and tutors.