Washington Monthly has ranked Oglethorpe University #103 among the top U.S. liberal arts colleges and #88 for “Best Bang for the Buck” in the Southeast.

The “Best Bang for the Buck” rankings reveal the list of schools that best help non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices. From 2015 to 2016, Oglethorpe rose an impressive 130 spots from #218 to #88.

Washington Monthly‘s annual College Guide & Rankings “measures schools based on what they are doing for the country—by improving social mobility, producing research, and promoting public service.”

This year, Washington Monthly was able to use newly available data on student outcomes from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.

The magazine rates schools based on their “contribution to the public good” in three broad categories, weighted equally:

Social Mobility – recruiting and graduating low-income students

Oglethorpe ranked #92 in social mobility, measured by net price, student economic outcomes, student loan repayment rate.

Research – producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs

Oglethorpe ranked #142 in research, which, for liberal arts institutions, was measured by the number of alumni who go on to get PhDs.

Service – encouraging students to give something back to their country

Oglethorpe ranked #96 in service, which was measured by looking at student military service, alumni national service in the Peace Corps, and percentage of federal work-study grant money spent on community service projects.

In addition, Oglethorpe ranked #75 in community service, a component of the overall service ranking. For community service, Washington Monthly considered the percent of students doing community service, the number of hours of community service per student, staff employed in community service, if any service courses were offered, and if the institution provides scholarships for community service.