NEW: US News Names Best Colleges 2013—How Did the Locals Do?

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Tracey Minkin, GoLocal Features Editor

They're finally here. US News' 2013 Best Colleges rankings of 1,600 schools nationwide have arrived this morning with customary obsessive attention nationwide.

There were few surprises at the top of the heap. Harvard and Princeton Universities once again tied for the #1 slot among the nation's National Universities, and Williams College in MA held on to its spot as #1 in Liberal Arts Colleges.

How did Central MA's universities and colleges do?

NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

WPI is Central MA's highest ranking National University, according to US News. Photo: WPI.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute ranked #65 overall and #48 as a Best Value among National Universities in US News' annual ranking for 2013. With an average freshman retention rate of 94% and 6-year graduation rate of 76%, WPI ranked #51 in its group. WPI also ranked #42 for faculty resources, #54 for student selectivity, and #85 for alumni giving. As part of its Best Value ranking, 67.4% of WPI's students receive need-based grants, accounting for 36% discount from total cost.

Clark University

Clark placed solidly in the Top 100 National Universities for 2013, coming in #83 overall, but perhaps even more of note is that the small liberal arts college ranked #28 among National Universities as a Best Value, according to US News. At Clark, 58.7% of students receive need-based grants, accounting for 54% discount from total cost. Among ranking sub categories, Clark posted its best ranking of 2013 at #57 for faculty resources and #61 for alumni giving (17% average alumni giving rate).

REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES

Assumption College

Holy Cross placed highest among Central MA schools on US News' National Liberal Arts Colleges ranking for 2013.

Assumption College tops Central MA's performance in US News' Regional Universities/North category, ranking #38 in the group for 2013. The Catholic institution based in Worcester placed in the Top 20 among its peers for graduation and retention rank, at #19 in 2013, with an average freshman retention rate of 84% and a 6-year graduation rate of 71%. Assumption also performed well in alumni giving, ranking #35 in the group.

Worcester State University

Worcester State, the region's public institution, came in at #133 in the Regional Universities/North category in 2013. The school's best performance for 2013 was in alumni giving, ranking #85 with a 9% average alumni giving rate.

Anna Maria College

The Paxton-based college had an unpublished overall rank for 2013 among Regional Universities/North, but US News did report sub rankings for the school. Anna Maria ranked #54 in alumni giving and #101 for faculty resources.

Fitchburg State University

Like Anna Maria, Fitchburg State University's overall ranking in the Regional Universities/North group was not published by US News, but several of its sub rankings were posted. The school's best performance among its group was a #107 ranking for student selectivity.

NATIONAL LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

Holy Cross

The private institution in Worcester took the region's top spot among National Liberal Arts Colleges for 2013, ranking #32 overall. The school's highest performance for 2013 was in graduation and retention, where it ranked #11 among National Liberal Arts Colleges, with a 95% freshman retention rate and a 91% 6-year graduation rate. Holy Cross also ranked #8 for alumni giving, with an annual rate of 51%.

REGIONAL COLLEGES

Nichols College

The Dudley-based private college ranked #37 for 2013 in the Regional Colleges/North group, with several Top 50 rankings in this group. Nichols ranked #31 for financial resources, #33 for graduation and retention, and #37 for alumni giving.

Becker College

With an unpublished overall ranking for 2013, Becker, the private college in Worcester, performed in the Top 50 for its group on several fronts, ranking #27 for alumni giving, #29 for financial resources, #32 for student selectivity, and #45 for faculty resources.

For more information on how US News and World Reports assesses and ranks schools, go here.