Clark University is listed in Forbes’ annual “America’s Best Colleges” report, rising further into the top third at #125 on the list of 650 schools recognized this year, up from #161 overall in 2010. Besides the overall ranking, Clark is listed as follows in separate categories:
- #111 in Private Colleges
- #38 in Research Universities
- #52 in the Northeast
According to Forbes, the annual ranking “focuses on the things that matter the most to students: quality of teaching, great career prospects, graduation rates and low levels of debt.” The rankings are based on five general categories: Post Graduate success (30%), which evaluates alumni pay and prominence, Student Satisfaction (27.5%), which includes professor evaluations and freshman to sophomore year retention rates, Debt (17.5%), which penalizes schools for high student debt loads and default rates, Four Year Graduation Rate (17.5%) and Competitive Awards (7.5%), which rewards schools whose students win prestigious scholarships and fellowships like the Rhodes, the Marshall and the Fulbright. Forbes conducts its rankings with research from the Center for College Affordability & Productivity. A complete methodology is available here. Clark University also was named one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, as recognized by The Princeton Review in its newly released college guidebook, “The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition.” The guidebook also placed Clark among the institutions deemed “Best in the Northeast.”