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AffordableSchools.net Releases Its 2016 Ranking of Exclusive Public Colleges

  • 04/04/16

SUNNYVALE, CA – AffordableSchools.net — an independent college search and rankings site centering on unique and affordable academic programs — has released its newest college rankings list, featuring the Top 25 Most Exclusive Public Bachelor’s Colleges by Admissions Rate.

At No.1 on this AffordableSchools.net’s rankings list is United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, MD. USNA is followed by United States Military Academy (West Point, NY) and University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley, CA), in second and third places respectively. The complete list of all 25 U.S. colleges and universities, in alphabetical order, comprises:

  • Bernard M Baruch College (New York, NY) aka CUNY Baruch
  • Brooklyn College (Brooklyn, NY) aka CUNY Brooklyn
  • California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, CA)
  • California State University-Long Beach (Long Beach, CA)
  • College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA)
  • Colorado School of Mines (Golden, CO)
  • Fort Valley State University (Fort Valley, GA)
  • Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
  • Hunter College (New York, NY) aka CUNY Hunter
  • Lehman College (Bronx, NY) aka CUNY Lehman
  • Lincoln University (Lincoln University (Chester County), PA)
  • Mississippi Valley State University (Itta Bena, MI)
  • San Diego State University (San Diego, CA)
  • United States Air Force Academy (USAFA, CO)
  • United States Coast Guard Academy (New London, CT)
  • United States Military Academy (West Point, NY)
  • United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD)
  • University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
  • University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
  • University of California-San Diego (La Jolla, CA)
  • University of California-Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
  • University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • University of South Florida-St Petersburg (St. Petersburg, FL)
  • University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)

“Exclusivity in student admissions has its benefits, but for those without a private-school budget, an exclusive public school is a possible alternative,” says Raj Dash, the article’s lead researcher. “There is a long list of benefits for both types of colleges. However, tuition can be lower for both in-state and out-of-state students at public schools. There may be tuition discounts, better facilities and resources, larger library collections, a diverse student body, more student clubs, more consistent funding (from state and federal governments), etc.

“There’s some notion that private schools are more prestigious, but many of the 25 schools on this rankings list have high undergrad graduation rates; various award-winning faculty, staff and students; world-class resources and facilities and much more. There are other benefits to an exclusive public school too numerous to mention here. However, if this is a college niche you are interested in exploring — whether as a freshman-hopeful or as a potential transfer student — our ranking list may be what you are looking for.

“This list can help reduce the college search effort. In addition to ranking entries for 25 schools, we have included a custom Google Map, over 150 interactive charts (six per school, in the form of a dashboard) for data point viewing, and an innovative circular chart that allows comparison of a dozen data points simultaneously.”

Rankings for this list were compiled with data from NCES (National Center for Education Statistics), a bureau of the Dept. of Education (http://nces.ed.gov). We queried for public, bachelor’s-granting colleges, extract admissions info, filtered for 40 percent or lower admissions rates, and applied a number of other factors. The list continues our series of “top 25” bachelor’s colleges, exploring various niches and hopefully bringing them to the attention of future college students. Similar niche rankings will be published at AffordableSchools (www.affordableschools.net) — an independent college search and rankings site with a focus on affordable colleges and programs — on a regular basis.

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