Archive: Around Town

Aurora, NY - Wells College has been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country, according to its 2020 rankings data that were announced today (Sept. 9, 2019). The publication ranked Wells at #124 for national liberal arts colleges, tied with five other institutions of higher education. (Last year, Wells was included in an unranked tier of schools #173 through #229 on that same list.)

The College also scored high on two rankings related to socioeconomic and ethnic/racial diversity, rankings Wells #14 in the country for "social mobility" in the category of national liberal arts colleges (tied with three other institutions), and #44 for "campus diversity," also in the same category.

"I am exceptionally proud of the progress that Wells College has made in the past couple of years in regard to its standing in national rankings such as these," said Jonathan Gibralter, president of Wells College. "It is a testament to the College's ability to provide our students a personalized, purposeful and transformational experience within a vibrant and inclusive campus community," he added.

The U.S. News social mobility score evaluates colleges' success in enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students who are awarded Pell Grants, which are most often given to students whose families have annual incomes of less than $50,000. The indicators were computed using two-year averages of cohorts of students who entered college in fall 2011 and fall 2012, and who then graduated six years later. The campus diversity rankings are those institutions where, according to U.S. News, "students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from racial or ethnic groups different from their own."

Wells College has also been recognized by other national colleges rankings systems in this year. Last month, Forbes included Wells in its list of "top colleges 2019," and also ranked Wells #213 in its list of "liberal arts universities"; #203 in "best colleges in the Northeast region"; and #399 in the overall category of "private colleges."

In addition, the Princeton Review also recognized Wells College as one of the 224 colleges that are "best in the Northeast" in its latest edition, "2020 Best Colleges: Region by Region." The colleges and universities that were fortunate enough to be included in the publication constitute just 22 percent of the nation's four-year colleges, and were chosen "primarily for their excellent academics" as well as what students reported about their campus experiences, according to materials released by the Princeton Review. Wells was recently named by Princeton Review in its most recent list of the best "green colleges" in the country.

v15i35