See where Stark County's colleges rank on the latest U.S. News & World Report list

Craig Webb, Akron Beacon Journal
·3 min read
Walsh University
Walsh University

This time of year it's all about the rankings for colleges and universities.

We tend to spend a lot of time − especially Ohio State Buckeyes fans − worrying about the ranking on the football field.

But there's another ranking that comes out in the fall that parents and college administrators also pay attention to.

U.S. News & World Report has released its 2024 rankings of the best colleges and universities − big and small − across the country.

The news organization crunches numbers and data to determine its annual rankings from statistics on admissions, financial aid and student demographics with a bigger emphasis this go around on student retention.

Princeton came out on top among national universities followed by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) with Harvard and Stanford tied for third.

Williams College in Massachusetts was the top-ranked liberal arts college.

Ohio State was the top ranked national university in the state coming in at 43 on the list.

Controversy around ranking process

College rankings claim to know which schools are best, but U.S. News and World Report's annual assessment of schools has been the target of backlash over the last few years.

Critics say the rankings, which began in 1983 and have long been considered the gold standard, are biased toward selective private universities, are too easily manipulated by the schools themselves and fail to capture the breadth of a school's offerings.

In fact, a number of universities last fall, mostly prestigious law and medical schools like Yale and Harvard, announced they will refuse to participate. Columbia University, one of the few undergraduate schools to abstain, said in June that concern about the ranking's “outsized influence” in the undergraduate admissions process was a major factor in their decision.

None of Ohio's colleges and universities announced they would step out of the rankings.

U.S. News and World Report adjusted its methodology for ranking schools this year, increasing the weight of a schools' success in graduating students from different backgrounds, and eliminating factors like alumni giving, faculty with terminal degree, class size and high school standing.

How did Northeast Ohio colleges do in ranking?

Case Western University in Cleveland was ranked 53 on the national list.

Kent State came in at 227 and Cleveland State was ranked 320.

Walsh University in North Canton was 352.

The University of Akron was 361 on the list.

The College of Wooster was ranked 75th among liberal arts colleges in the country.

U.S. News & World Report also ranked regional universities in the Midwest and John Carroll University in University Heights was ranked No. 3.

Baldwin Wallace in Berea was No. 6 and Hiram College No. 10.

The University of Mount Union in Alliance was ranked No. 32 among regional universities.

Ashland University was No. 35 and Notre Dame College in Cleveland No. 56.

Malone College in Canton was No. 95.

How did Ohio schools overall rank according to U.S. News and World Report?

Here's how other Ohio colleges and universities ranked this year:

  • Antioch College: No. 100 in national liberal arts universities (tie)

  • Bowling Green State University: No. 280 in national universities (tie)

  • Capital University: No. 47 in regional universities Midwest (tie)

  • Central State University: No. 63 in HBCUs (tie)

  • Denison University: No. 39 in national liberal arts universities (tie)

  • Kenyon College: No. 39 in national liberal arts universities (tie)

  • Miami University: No. 133 in national universities (tie)

  • Mount St. Joseph University: No. 376 in national universities (tie)

  • Oberlin College: No. 51 in national liberal arts universities (tie)

  • Otterbein University: No. 20 in regional universities Midwest

  • Ohio University: No. 178 in national universities (tie)

  • Ohio Dominican University: No. 95 in regional universities Midwest (tie)

  • Ohio Wesleyan University: No. 116 in national liberal arts universities (tie)

  • University of Cincinnati: No. 142 in national universities (tie)

  • University of Dayton: No. 133 in national universities (tie)

  • University of Findlay: No. 332 in national universities (tie)

  • University of Toledo: No. 280 in national universities (tie)

  • Wilberforce University: No. 61 in HBCUs (tie)

  • Wittenberg University: No. 152 in national liberal arts universities (tie)

  • Xavier University: No. 201 in national universities (tie)

Reporter Sheridan Hendrix from the Columbus Dispatch contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: How did Stark County's colleges rank on U.S. News & World Report