Accolades

Oglethorpe among U.S. News Best Colleges nationwide, stands out in social mobility

Oglethorpe University is once again ranked among the nation’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges, according to this year’s U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges Rankings. The list includes the top-ranked 210 liberal arts colleges in the nation.

Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence and key weighted measures of quality, including undergraduate academic reputation; social mobility; financial resources per student; faculty resources; student selectivity; graduation rate performance; graduation and retention rates; alumni giving rate; and graduate indebtedness.

Oglethorpe was also designated a “top performer in social mobility,” ranking #38 among liberal arts schools in the country — a jump of more than 40 spots over last year.

According to U.S. News, the social mobility ranking highlights which colleges are more successful than others in affecting social mobility by enrolling and graduating students who have been awarded Pell Grants. These federal grants are generally awarded to students whose adjusted gross family income is under $50,000.

Approximately 40 percent of Oglethorpe students are Pell-eligible and 40 percent are the first in their families to attend college.

Universities nationwide are rated annually by U.S. News in an effort to help prospective students and their families evaluate higher education choices. Liberal arts colleges emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the arts and sciences, which include disciplines such as English, the biological and physical sciences, history, foreign languages, and the visual and performing arts.

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