Northeast Ohio school is No. 1 on list of state’s best small colleges; See Top 25

Right now, college students across the United States are on winter break between the fall and spring semesters, including those attending schools big and small across Ohio.

Ohio is home to dozens of colleges of all backgrounds and sizes, from community colleges and technical colleges to private and public colleges and universities. But when it comes to small schools, specifically, which is the best in Ohio?

Oberlin College, a liberal arts school located in Oberlin, Ohio – about 40 minutes southwest of Cleveland – is the best small college in the state, according to a report from AcademicInfluence.com, an online academics and data ranking publication. The rankings compared all 52 small colleges in Ohio – which must be fully accredited and have student enrollments of 5,000 or fewer – across a number of categories, including tuition and fees, acceptance rate, graduation rate, career outlook for graduates, and more.

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Beyond Oberlin College, a few other Northeast Ohio colleges made the rankings for best small colleges in Ohio.

John Carroll University, located in University Heights, placed fifth while neighboring Notre Dame College in South Euclid placed 22nd and Baldwin Wallace University, in Berea, ranked 25th overall.

The top 25 best small colleges in Ohio, according to AcademicInfluence.com, are:

1. Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)

2. Denison University (Granville, OH)

3. Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)

4. Ashland University (Ashland, OH)

5. John Carroll University (University Heights, OH)

6. Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH)

7. Wittenberg University (Springfield, OH)

8. College of Wooster (Wooster, OH)

9. Ohio Northern University (Ada, OH)

10. Franciscan University of Steubenville (Steubenville, OH)

11. University of Mount Union (Alliance, OH)

12. Cedarville University (Cedarville, OH)

13. Marietta College (Marietta, OH)

14. Tiffin University (Tiffin, OH)

15. Central State University (Wilberforce, OH)

16. Capital University (Columbus, OH)

17. Wilberforce University (Wilberforce, OH)

18. Union Institute & University (Cincinnati, OH)

19. Hiram College (Hiram, OH)

20. Malone University (Canton, OH)

21. Walsh University (North Canton, OH)

22. Notre Dame College (South Euclid, OH)

23. Muskingum University (New Concord, OH)

24. Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, OH)

25. Baldwin Wallace University (Berea, OH)

The full report from AcademicInfluence.com on the best small colleges in Ohio, including its rankings of schools No. 25 through No. 52, can be found online.