UConn again ranks among top 25 national public universities by US News and World Report; Yale No. 5 among all US universities
It’s college application season, and with that comes essay writing, test taking and tough decision making.
The 2022 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings may make that last part a bit easier.
The rankings, released in September, place several Connecticut universities among the top schools in the country.
UConn celebrated its 11th straight year among the top 25 national public universities. Similarly to last year, the school tied with Penn State and Rutgers for the No. 23 spot on the national public universities list.
UConn has made the top 25 since 2011, climbing to No. 18 in 2017. UConn’s ranking dropped slightly in the following years, which school officials attributed to a change in the way schools’ financial resources are calculated. In last year’s rankings, UConn moved up a spot from No. 24.
“Maintaining our strong position against the challenging backdrop of an unprecedented pandemic is particularly gratifying,” UConn President Andrew Agwunobi said in a statement. “It is a testament to the resilience and dedication of UConn’s students, faculty and staff, as well as our state’s leaders, and the many others who support and sustain the institution’s continual drive for quality.”
UConn’s SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile scores dropped from 1190-1390 in the 2021 ranking to 1170-1390 in this year’s ranking, but the school said it “does not see that as cause for concern,” citing its “holistic admissions process.” UConn plans to continue its “test-optional” admissions policy, which was announced during spring 2020 and used for the Class of 2025, for the next two incoming class years.
UConn continues to have a student to faculty ratio of 16 to 1. More than half of the schools’ classes have less than 20 students, while 15% have 50 or more students.
How are school rankings decided?
To create its annual rankings, U.S. News and World Report considers six main factors. At 40%, student “outcomes” — including indebtedness upon graduation, social mobility indicators and gradation and retention rates — are the most heavily weighted factors in the ranking system methodology. Faculty resources and expert opinions are each given a 20% weight, while financial resources are weighted at 10%.
Student excellence, weighted at 7%, looks at ACT/SAT tests scores and the proportion of freshmen who ranked at the top of their high school classes. The weight given to alumni donations has decreased from 5% to 3% in the past few years.
For the 2022 list, U.S. News “lowered the threshold of submissions necessary for schools to receive full credit for their SAT/ACT performance,” said the organization. “Schools’ values used in the rankings are only discounted by 15% if the total SAT and ACT scores reported comprise less than 50% of the entering class. Previously, the threshold was 75%.”
“The change was made to reflect the decline of test submissions pertaining to the fall 2020 admissions cycle, which mostly pre-dated the impact of COVID-19,” noted U.S. News.
In 2019, U.S. News dropped schools’ acceptance rates from its methodology. However, the most selective — and wealthy — schools in the nation continue to consistently top national university rankings.
Yale ranked No. 5 in nation
Yale University in New Haven was again the highest-rated university in Connecticut, coming in fifth nationally after a three-way tie among Columbia University, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for No. 2, with Princeton University at No. 1. Last year, Yale tied with MIT for the No. 4 spot. All universities ranked in the top 10 nationally are private institutions with acceptance rates under 10%.
Yale ranked first on the “Best Value Schools” list for national universities, while Quinnipiac University in Hamden ranked No. 45.
In “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges,” Wesleyan University in Middletown ranked No. 17, tying with Colby College in Maine, Smith College in Massachusetts, and Barnard College and Colgate University, both located in New York. Trinity College in Hartford took the No. 46 spot on the list, tying with three other schools. Connecticut College in New London also tied with three schools for the No. 50 spot.
Fairfield University ranked No. 3 for “Best Regional Universities” in the North, after Providence College in Rhode Island and Bentley University in Massachusetts. The University of New Haven tied with two other schools for No. 55 on the list.
Among the top public regional universities in the North, Eastern Connecticut State University in Windham ranked No. 24, Central Connecticut State University in New Britain ranked No. 28, Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven ranked No. 32 and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury ranked No. 39.
The United States Coast Guard Academy in New London ranked No.1 for “Best Regional Colleges” in the North, followed by the Cooper Union and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, both located in New York.
Amanda Blanco can be reached at ablanco@courant.com.
