Virginia Tech made another big jump in the ranking of top colleges from U.S. News & World Report, released Monday. For likely the first time in the ranking’s history, Virginia Tech is now higher than the College of William & Mary.
Virginia Tech surged 15 spots and is now ranked 47th in the country and 20th among public schools. William & Mary placed 53rd nationally and 23rd among public colleges in a year in which the rankings showed a significant shakeup.
The University of Virginia placed 24th nationally, and in the ranking of public schools, fell two spots to No. 5.
The rankings, released annually since 1983, carry a degree of importance and affect how universities operate in hopes of gaining a higher place.
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But they’ve received criticism, too. Last year, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona made a lightly veiled comment, saying any college ranking that values wealth, reputation and exclusivity more than economic mobility and return on investment is a “joke.”
U.S. News responded by making what it called the most significant change to its methodology in its history and placed greater emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduating students. More than 50% of a college’s rank comes from measures related to enrolling and graduating students from all backgrounds with manageable debt and instilling post-graduate success. U.S. News removed five factors this year: class size, faculty with high degrees, alumni giving, high school class standing and the proportion of graduates who borrow federal loans.
As a result, some colleges made large gains or losses.
But the top of the ranking for national universities is the same as last year: Princeton University came in No. 1, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology at No. 2. Harvard University and Stanford University tied at No. 3. Yale University, which had tied for third last year, fell to fifth.
Among all colleges, UVa moved up one spot to No. 24. But some of its competitors made big gains. The University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles each jumped five spots and tied at No. 15. The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor rose four spots to No. 21, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill jumped UVa, rising seven spots to No. 22.
UVa has set a goal of becoming the nation’s top public school by 2030. But UVa doesn’t say how it will define the term.
UCLA and Berkeley tied for No. 1 in the public school ranking, followed by Michigan third, UNC fourth and UVa fifth.
In the overall ranking that includes public and private schools, Virginia Tech leaped 15 spots and ranked 47th, tying with five other schools, including Texas A&M University, the University of Georgia and Wake Forest University. Tech continued to move up the list. The Blacksburg university has risen 28 places in two years as it has received more applications and become more selective.
William & Mary fell 12 spots to 53rd, tying with four others, including Florida State University and Northeastern University. (William & Mary was 23rd in national public schools.)
George Mason University tied with Saint Louis University and others at No. 105.
James Madison University rose 26 spots and tied at No. 123, alongside several other schools, including Creighton University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of South Carolina.
Virginia Commonwealth University gained 23 spots to No. 142, tying with the University of Cincinnati, Loyola University Chicago, Oregon State University and others.
Hampton University is No. 280, tied with Old Dominion University. Radford is No. 304, tying with Shenandoah University. Marymount University is No. 320, the University of Lynchburg is No. 345 and Regent University is No. 369.
Liberty University did not receive a ranking, having placed below the cutoff for a numerical ranking at No. 394. Neither did Mary Baldwin University.
In the ranking of national liberal arts colleges, Washington and Lee University fell 10 spots to No. 21, tied with Colgate University and Haverford College. The University of Richmond fell seven spots to No. 25, where it tied with Colby College.
Virginia Military Institute rose seven spots to No. 63 in liberal arts ranking, and fourth among public liberal arts schools.
Randolph-Macon College slipped one spot to No. 107 in the list of all liberal arts schools. Hampden-Sydney College slid 23 spots to No. 116, and Hollins University placed No. 124. Roanoke College is No. 130, and the University of Mary Washington is No. 152. A number of other Virginia colleges placed lower. Virginia Union University fell below the cutoff at No. 185.
In the ranking of regional universities in the South, Christopher Newport University placed seventh, down two spots from last year. Emory & Henry College and Longwood University tied at No. 21. Virginia State University rose 39 spots and tied at No. 41.
In the ranking for most innovative schools, George Mason was 20th, Virginia Tech 25th and VCU 38th.
For best undergraduate teaching, William & Mary placed sixth in the country.
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