Washington Monthly Top 25 LAC awards (access, affordability, outcomes, promoting public good)
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Anonymous
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2025 Liberal Arts Colleges Ranking
Since 2005, the Washington Monthly has ranked liberal arts colleges based on what they do for the country. It’s our answer to U.S News & World Report, which relies on crude and easily manipulated measures of wealth, exclusivity, and prestige. We rank liberal arts colleges based on their contribution to the public good in four broad categories: access, affordability, outcomes, and promoting public service. ACCESS: Ranks colleges by how well they provide access to nonwealthy students. Among other metrics, it tracks how many students are on federal Pell Grants for low-to-middle-income families and compares that to how many Pell recipients those schools might be expected to enroll based on test scores, admission rates, and statewide family income. AFFORDABILITY: Ranks colleges by their affordability. It includes the net price of the institution, or the amount that students with family incomes below $75,000 pay, minus aid. It also tracks how much debt graduates leave with. OUTCOMES: Ranks colleges by the academic and financial outcomes they provide to students. It tracks the percentage of students graduating within eight years and compares that to statistical predictions. It compares graduation rates between wealthy and nonwealthy students. It also tracks the incomes that students make in their early careers and compares that to their peers’ early-career incomes. Additionally, the outcomes category ranks colleges by the numbers of graduates who go on to receive PhDs. SERVICE: Ranks how well colleges do in promoting public service. It tracks numbers of graduates who enter AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, of ROTC cadets on campus, and of students who enroll in service-oriented majors like social work. Among other statistics, it also tracks colleges’ commitment to encouraging voting participation. https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025-college-guide/liberal-arts-colleges-ranking/?utm_campaign=adm-pi&utm_content=newsletter-july-25&utm_medium=email&utm_source=adm |
Anonymous
Rank Name Net price Median earnings 9 yrs. after entering college Student loan debt of graduates 8-year graduation rate Access rank Affordability rank Outcomes rank Service rank 1 Berea College (KY) 3395 36974 4041 68% 1 1 83 22 2 Williams College (MA) 1027 65891 13087 96% 95 2 3 59 3 Haverford College (PA) 7940 66218 12968 91% 106 7 7 25 4 Macalester College (MN) 13765 54515 22244 91% 50 47 19 2 5 Washington and Lee University (VA) 2948 73321 19833 94% 142 15 24 3 6 New College of Florida (FL)* 4795 39988 16130 66% 72 9 11 33 7 Pomona College (CA) 4828 56872 11257 94% 73 3 22 39 8 Middlebury College (VT) 10095 63541 13722 93% 71 10 58 7 9 Amherst College (MA) 6413 73845 13680 95% 77 6 2 106 10 Swarthmore College (PA) 9137 62058 18417 96% 38 21 10 40 11 Claremont McKenna College (CA) 10712 89566 14500 92% 74 14 5 79 12 Bowdoin College (ME) 5632 62517 17669 95% 47 13 26 49 13 Wesleyan University (CT) 6341 61195 16201 92% 143 11 12 52 14 Bates College (ME) 6861 59341 13959 92% 129 8 42 26 15 Hampshire College (MA) 17701 40007 26298 66% 87 117 8 5 16 Davidson College (NC) 7634 69249 19063 92% 99 19 4 69 17 Hobart & William Smith Colls. (NY) 16768 59152 27000 76% 139 119 55 1 18 University of MN–Morris (MN)* 3005 43563 18543 59% 94 12 45 43 19 Carleton College (MN) 12473 62337 16525 93% 65 24 13 71 20 Harvey Mudd College (CA) 18576 123761 23066 93% 127 72 1 123 21 Lafayette College (PA) 16307 77718 17667 89% 167 34 14 29 22 Vassar College (NY) 16711 54672 18735 91% 61 38 64 16 23 Hamilton College (NY) 9517 67454 16833 91% 114 18 43 53 24 Colgate University (NY) 10907 72767 15583 91% 165 17 17 65 25 Grinnell College (IA) 10843 51351 17333 88% 49 22 30 82 26 Wellesley College (MA) 8179 64810 10567 93% 63 5 32 145 27 Smith College (MA) 13357 50312 18517 90% 101 30 57 37 28 Bryn Mawr College (PA) 12156 60961 24667 86% 156 54 18 21 29 Colby College (ME) 3249 69500 19696 89% 88 16 31 97 30 Kalamazoo College (MI) 17589 53298 25727 82% 57 109 20 31 31 Dickinson College (PA) 11598 58636 19000 83% 122 29 61 36 32 Bard College (NY) 17056 39493 25486 75% 78 93 80 6 33 Gettysburg College (PA) 16513 62325 26310 82% 75 102 29 13 34 Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) 16162 57227 26925 78% 39 112 59 10 35 Salem College (NC) 13883 36871 26883 60% 12 79 44 61 36 Denison University (OH) 16176 55916 25333 82% 161 78 79 4 37 Knox College (IL) 19251 45482 27000 74% 41 146 74 8 38 Kenyon College (OH) 15181 52842 18727 91% 103 36 97 30 39 Soka University of America (CA) 9971 44187 17945 89% 147 23 25 101 40 Colorado College (CO) 12620 48346 18321 86% 130 27 118 20 41 St. Olaf College (MN) 11851 54253 24594 86% 35 50 27 90 42 Goucher College (MD) 16573 43867 25503 64% 84 87 92 9 43 Franklin and Marshall College (PA) 17085 61710 19500 85% 107 42 23 87 44 Allegheny College (PA) 16912 50257 27000 74% 86 120 53 18 45 Pitzer College (CA) 12869 57485 17075 87% 176 26 77 50 46 Muhlenberg College (PA) 16361 60263 25897 82% 111 92 28 47 47 Whitman College (WA) 21430 52550 17079 89% 115 46 68 48 48 Mount Holyoke College (MA) 16736 48733 21463 85% 80 51 46 66 49 Sewanee–Univ. of the South (TN) 13876 52611 23688 80% 109 56 91 27 50 Centre College (KY) 13971 54323 27000 85% 67 84 48 51 «‹1234›» Definitions: Pell/non-Pell graduation gap: graduation rate for Pell students minus the graduation rate for non-Pell students; a positive number indicates that students who receive Pell grants graduate at a higher rate than those who don’t, and vice versa. * = public ° = for-profit ^^ Under heightened financial monitoring by the U.S. Department of Education |
Anonymous
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Sorry it's a Top 50 (not top 25). See link for methodology and full details. Here's the basic ranking.
1 Berea College (KY) 2 Williams College (MA) 3 Haverford College (PA) 4 Macalester College (MN) 5 Washington and Lee University (VA) 6 New College of Florida (FL)* 7 Pomona College (CA) 8 Middlebury College (VT) 9 Amherst College (MA) 10 Swarthmore College (PA) 11 Claremont McKenna College (CA) 12 Bowdoin College (ME) 13 Wesleyan University (CT) 14 Bates College (ME) 15 Hampshire College (MA) 16 Davidson College (NC) 17 Hobart & William Smith Colls. (NY) 18 University of MN–Morris (MN)* 19 Carleton College (MN) 20 Harvey Mudd College (CA) 21 Lafayette College (PA) 22 Vassar College (NY) 23 Hamilton College (NY) 24 Colgate University (NY) 25 Grinnell College (IA) 26 Wellesley College (MA) 8179 64810 10567 93% 63 5 32 145 27 Smith College (MA) 13357 50312 18517 90% 101 30 57 37 28 Bryn Mawr College (PA) 12156 60961 24667 86% 156 54 18 21 29 Colby College (ME) 3249 69500 19696 89% 88 16 31 97 30 Kalamazoo College (MI) 17589 53298 25727 82% 57 109 20 31 31 Dickinson College (PA) 11598 58636 19000 83% 122 29 61 36 32 Bard College (NY) 17056 39493 25486 75% 78 93 80 6 33 Gettysburg College (PA) 16513 62325 26310 82% 75 102 29 13 34 Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) 16162 57227 26925 78% 39 112 59 10 35 Salem College (NC) 13883 36871 26883 60% 12 79 44 61 36 Denison University (OH) 16176 55916 25333 82% 161 78 79 4 37 Knox College (IL) 19251 45482 27000 74% 41 146 74 8 38 Kenyon College (OH) 15181 52842 18727 91% 103 36 97 30 39 Soka University of America (CA) 9971 44187 17945 89% 147 23 25 101 40 Colorado College (CO) 12620 48346 18321 86% 130 27 118 20 41 St. Olaf College (MN) 11851 54253 24594 86% 35 50 27 90 42 Goucher College (MD) 16573 43867 25503 64% 84 87 92 9 43 Franklin and Marshall College (PA) 17085 61710 19500 85% 107 42 23 87 44 Allegheny College (PA) 16912 50257 27000 74% 86 120 53 18 45 Pitzer College (CA) 12869 57485 17075 87% 176 26 77 50 46 Muhlenberg College (PA) 16361 60263 25897 82% 111 92 28 47 47 Whitman College (WA) 21430 52550 17079 89% 115 46 68 48 48 Mount Holyoke College (MA) 16736 48733 21463 85% 80 51 46 66 49 Sewanee–Univ. of the South (TN) 13876 52611 23688 80% 109 56 91 27 50 Centre College (KY) 13971 54323 27000 85% 67 84 48 51 |
Anonymous
Berea has my whole heart! Great to see Williams walking the walk as well as doing good. |
Anonymous
| I like these metrics, though I usually think rankings are a bunch of hogwash. (And yes, I do have a kid at a school on the list, and based on these metrics I'm even more glad that they are at this college.) |
Anonymous
Good to see WASP in top ten of this kind of ranking list too. |
Anonymous
| What publication is this? Is it affiliated with the Washingtonian? |
Anonymous
| Minnesota Moris over Carleton. Sure. |
Anonymous
Yes, heaven forbid this boards four precious children be perceived as lacking in any way. |
Anonymous
Washington Monthly is a monthly magazine published in DC. The Washingtonian is also a monthly magazine published in DC. They are two different publications. |
Anonymous
| Soka shows up because they have no students. |
Anonymous
| This seems heavily weighted to cost. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but two of the four metrics are about how much students pay to attend. |
Anonymous
Which is interesting cause if you follow the Princeton review rankings, the schools are scattered all over the list |
Anonymous
Same. |
Anonymous
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Am I reading this right? Williams $65,891/yr salary is ordinary (median earnings)
9 yrs. after entering college Seems so low! They all seem much lower than I would have thought |