Saint Michael’s in top 100 U.S. Liberal Arts Colleges

Saint Michael’s College is once again among the top 100 National Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report in its 2017 Best Colleges listings.

This year, Saint Michael’s is ranked at #99, behind only Holy Cross (#32) among Catholic colleges in the Northeast, and is the fifth-best ranked among Catholic liberal arts colleges in the entire nation.

Factors that helped Saint Michael’s move up from last year to place again in the top 100 among National Liberal Arts Colleges of all affiliations included excellent graduation rate, student-faculty ratio, the quality of incoming students, and engagement of alumni along with other factors.

Saint Michael’s President Jack Neuhauser commented on the improvement in ranking: “The faculty and staff at Saint Michael’s College quietly go about the day-to-day work of preparing our students for the economic, moral/spiritual and civic enterprises of the culture. It is heartening to see this translated into an improvement in our rankings. It serves as an affirmation of this good work and keeps us buoyed as we, like many other colleges on this list, face the continued challenges before us.”

Compared with Catholic Colleges in its own region, Saint Michael’s places ahead of Stonehill College in Massachusetts (#108), St. Anselm in New Hampshire (#115) Siena College in New York State (#122). Saint Michael’s also was listed in this year’s U.S. News rankings among “A-plus Schools for B Students.” Sarah Kelly, vice president for enrollment said, “I like the fact that we are also on the ‘A-plus schools for B students’ list because it underscores what we do best at St. Mike’s.  Our faculty members are passionate about teaching and mentoring their students, and are wholly dedicated to their success. That is a palpable part of our community.” She noted that the list includes a number of competitive institutions that, like Saint Michael’s, transform good high school students into excellent college scholars.

The National Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2017 U.S. News rankings guide: These schools, both public and private, emphasize undergraduate education. To be included, colleges must award at least 50 percent of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines, such as languages and literature, biology, life sciences, philosophy, cultural studies and psychology.

According to U.S. News, its rankings, which group schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, have grown in the past two decades into the most comprehensive research tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities.

The full rankings and data can be found on the U.S. News website.