“I think it’s important to rank in the top tier because families use the rankings to sort out their options,” says Wabash College Dean of Admissions Steve Klein.
Wabash ranked 50th in this year’s U.S. News & World Report College Guide and is one of two Indiana colleges ranked in the top tier. The weekly newsmagazine categorizes national liberal arts colleges as the 217 liberal arts colleges that emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts disciplines. Williams College, Amherst College, and Swarthmore College were U.S. News & World Report’s top three national liberal arts colleges.
“Wabash gains national visibility from these rankings, which allow us to enter into conversations with families about the opportunities available through a Wabash education. Certainly the rankings are helpful on a national level,” adds Klein.
Wabash also shines brightly in this year’s Princeton Review’s Best 351 Colleges rankings, earning top-20 rankings in seven categories. The Princeton Review rankings are based on student survey responses from more than 125,000 college students nationwide.
Wabash’s academic program, intramural sports, and administration got high marks from the Princeton Review. Wabash ranked eighth nationally in “Professors Make Themselves Accessible;” 20th in “Professors Bring Material to Life;” and fourth in “School Runs Like Butter.”
Additionally, Wabash ranked third nationally in Princeton Review’s category “Everyone Plays Intramural Sports;” ninth in “Students From Different Backgrounds Interact;” and 19th nationally in “Happy Students,” a nod to student satisfaction and quality of life on campus.
The Princeton Review rankings for interaction with faculty and happy students echo Wabash’s top national rankings in the 2002 National Survey of Student Engagement, in which Wabash set national benchmarks among liberal arts colleges.