U. of C. No. 4 in Forbes’ ‘America’s Top Colleges’ rankings, Princeton No. 1
Staff Report August 1, 2012 4:24PM
Updated: August 1, 2012 4:46PM
The University of Chicago has made Forbes magazine’s 2012 rankings of “America’s Top Colleges,” ranked No. 4 on a list topped by Princeton University. The rankings were produced for the magazine by the Washington-based Center for College Affordability & Productivity and take into account factors including graduation rates, students who win prestigious awards or go on to obtain a doctorate, career prospects, alumni pay, student satisfaction, as well as low levels of debt coming out of school. “It’s easy to spend more than a quarter of a million dollars for an undergraduate degree, and a lot of people are beginning to ask: Is it worth it?” says Michael Noer, the magazine’s executive editor. “The answer obviously varies, but it is still an unqualified ‘yes’ for those schools ranking at the top of our list.” Williams College in Massachusetts, No. 1 the previous two years, slipped to the No. 2 spot on the list, followed by: 3.) Stanford University. 4.) U. of C. 5.) Yale University. 6.) Harvard University. 7.) U.S. Military Academy at West Point, in New York. 8.) Columbia University, New York City. 9.) Pomona College. 10.) Swarthmore College. The rankings — 650 schools, in all — will be in the Aug. 20 issue of the magazine and are available online at
Other schools that made the list include: 12.) University of Notre Dame. 22.) Northwestern University. 71.) Washington University, St. Louis. 86.) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 144.) Indiana University-Bloomington. 147.) University of Wisconsin-Madison. 166.) Lake Forest College. 181.) Marquette University. 192.) Knox College. 195.) Purdue University. 208.) Beloit College. 217.) Ripon College. 236.) Illinois Wesleyan University. 314.) Valparaiso University. 341.) Illinois Institute of Technology. 360.) Loyola University Chicago. 381.) University of Illinois at Chicago. 512.) DePaul University. 646.) Columbia College Chicago.
