Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Pomona College Ranks No. 1 on Forbes' Eighth Annual Ranking of America's Top Colleges

  • 07/29/15

NEW YORK, NY – Pomona College tops Forbes’ 2015 8th annual rankings of America’s Top Colleges (p. 75 of the August 17, 2015 issue of Forbes magazine). The rankings are featured online at www.forbes.com/top-colleges. The debate about whether U.S. higher education is worth the price is over when it comes to these outstanding colleges. Forbes rates schools on an ROI scale with points for low debt, high graduation rates, student satisfaction and career success; letter grades are used for fiscal soundness, and there is also a ranking of alumni giving.

Pomona College moved Williams College out of first place and into the No. 2 spot on this year’s rankings. Stanford University moved down to No. 3 from 2nd place last year, followed by Princeton University (No. 4) and Yale University at No. 5. The three highest ranking public schools are University of California, Berkeley (No. 35), University of Virginia (No. 36), and the College of William & Mary (No. 39). Wellesley College (No. 26) was ranked the best all-women’s college.

Notable trends in the Top 10 schools:

  • The Top 10 fall into two geographic locations: they are on the East or West Coast.
  • They all have very low student/faculty ratio with the highest at 11:1; the lowest at 6:1.
  • They have high retention rates. Stanford and Yale have the highest, with only 1 percent leaving/transferring to another school.
  • They have high four-year graduation rates. 84 percent or more graduate in four years.
  • They are all old schools. Pomona College is the newest, founded in 1887.

Background:

  • 18 million undergraduate students will pay an estimated total $18,943 on college tuition and costs ($42,429 for private schools).
  • An average newly minted grad with student loan debt will have to pay back approximately $35,000; overall national student debt has escalated to an all-time high of $1.2 trillion.

Forbes.com’s coverage includes a complete ranking of 650 colleges, Best Value Colleges, Best Public Colleges, Best Private Colleges and related online features and videos. The Top 10 colleges are:

RANK

 NAME/STATE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Featured

  • Illinois District Boosts Security at High-School Stadium

    Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, Ill., recently announced that it has completed the redesigned entrance to its high school stadium with a new focus on school security and community engagement, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects and Engineers on the project as part of District #157’s year-long facilities master plan.

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

  • iPark 87

    Building a Future-Focused Career and Technical Education Center

    A district superintendent shares his team's journey to aligning student passions with workforce demands, and why their new CTE center could be a model for districts nationwide.

  • LAN, Inc. Opens Office in College Station, Texas

    Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) recently announced the opening of a new office in College Station, Texas, to support its regional client base, according to a news release. The organization provides engineering, design, and program management services for water, wastewater, transportation, stormwater, and education clients in the Brazos Valley.

Digital Edition