Clark University’s academic quality and financial value earned a No. 41 ranking among the top 50 schools named in the Great Schools, Great Prices category of the 2011 edition of America’s Best Colleges, released today (Aug. 17) by the U.S. News Media Group. Clark also is included among the Best National Universities, ranked 86th of 262 institutions selected.
“Although the college rankings don’t always capture the real quality of the student experience at any college, we recognize that students and their families use the U.S. News classifications as a way of sorting their options as they begin the college search,” said Don Honeman, Clark’s Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. “We are pleased that Clark has consistently been rated as one of the leading institutions in its categories. Nevertheless, the best way for a student to evaluate whether a college is a good fit is to spend a few hours on the campus, meet the students, get a sense of campus culture and gain a first-hand view of the academic experience.”
Honeman encourages students to have the Clark Campus Visit Experience to learn why the University is recognized by U.S. News and other rating publications.
Highlights of the exclusive college rankings will appear in the September issue of U.S. News & World Report magazine, available on newsstands August 31. The 2011 Best Colleges guidebook will be on newsstands August 24.
* Clark University also appears recently in the Forbes and Princeton Review listings of best colleges. *
The calculations for the U.S. News rankings are based on a school’s academic quality and reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity and more. The Great Schools, Great Prices” calculations are based on academic quality and the net cost of attendance for a student receiving the average need-based scholarship or grant. The higher the ratio of rank to the discounted cost (total costs less average scholarship or grant), says U.S. News, the better the value. “Only schools ranked near the top half of their categories are included because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically.”
The U.S. News college rankings, compiled for the past 26 years, groups schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The rankings claim to be the most comprehensive research tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities. According to the U.S. News Media Group, the America’s Best Colleges ranking package, which includes extensive editorial content and multimedia resources, has helped families navigate the difficult decisions involved throughout the college process, from college admission and selection to financing options.
Since its founding in 1887, Clark University in Worcester, Mass., has a history of challenging convention. As an innovative liberal arts college and research university, Clark’s world-class faculty lead a community of creative thinkers and passionate doers and offer a range of expertise, particularly in the areas of psychology, geography, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. Clark’s students, faculty and alumni embody the Clark motto: Challenge convention. Change our world. www.clarku.edu