Recently, the website GradReports.com released the Top 100 Colleges by Student Choice, with CC brushing in at 39th. The ranking compares all colleges evenly (big universities, Ivy Leagues, military colleges, and liberal arts schools) based on acceptance rate and enrollment rate.
The ranking is designed to reflect schools that students are actually choosing, rather than institutions with the lowest admissions rates.
“I think this broader list will give students a better idea of which colleges are truly competitive but desirable,” said Kim Wetter, an employee at an education publisher called SR Education Group.
There are some surprises on the list. For example, the United States Naval Academy outranks many Ivy League colleges. Small schools with under 2,000 students like Claremont McKenna College and Bowdoin College rank in the top 20. Most of these surprises occur as a result of affordability.
Several of the schools near the top of the list agree to meet most, if not all, of demonstrated financial need. This aspect gives schools a distinct advantage when students are choosing where they will attend college.
The ranking process used by GradReports is simple. Divide the enrollment rate by the square of the acceptance rate, and then present the number logarithmically for readability. Colleges and universities with rolling admissions or enrollment under 200 students are excluded from the list.
The ranking webpage also includes a “recommendations” column. This column presents the percentage of graduate reviewers who would recommend the school.
“I think that CC is a top contender for liberal arts colleges in the West,” said Wetter. “It makes it highly desirable for people who want a premiere liberal arts education but don’t want to move across the country.”