FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Doug Stone
August 20, 2003 Barbara K. Laskin
(651) 696-6203

Macalester is ranked 25th (tied with Mount Holyoke College) among 217 national liberal arts colleges in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings released today. For the last two years Macalester tied for 26th. Macalester was ranked 25th in 2000.

The top-ranked school is Williams College, followed by Amherst (2nd) and Swarthmore (3rd). Last year Amherst was ranked 1st.

Macalester’s overall score was 78 compared to a perfect 100 for Williams. The college’s academic reputation, which accounts for 25 percent of the ranking, remained high at 4.1 (out of 5). The college’s academic reputation was either higher than or the same as 10 schools that ranked above it in the overall list. The academic reputation category is based on a survey of presidents, provosts and admissions deans at other liberal arts colleges.

Macalester did well in the rankings in such categories as student selectivity, student-faculty ratio, percentage of small classes, entering class test scores and students in the top 10 percent of their high school class. The college did not do as well in retention rank (35th) and alumni giving (71st).

The college’s study abroad program was cited in a new category called “Programs to look for.” Macalester was listed along with 24 other schools based on a survey of presidents, provosts and deans of students.

Macalester was also recognized for having the third highest percentage of international students (15 percent), just behind Wesleyan College and Mount Holyoke.

"We are of course pleased to be judged, in any context, as one of the strongest liberal arts colleges in the country, and surely that judgment is in some sense an affirmation of the things we accomplish at Macalester," said President Brian Rosenberg. "At the same time, I think, we should resist putting too much stock in such rankings and should instead focus on achieving excellence by our own standards."

In this year’s survey, the following categories and percentages account for the total score:
• Peer assessment, 25 percent: Based on the survey of college officials.

• Retention rates, 20 percent: Based on six-year graduation rate and freshman retention rate.

• Faculty resources, 20 percent: Based on class size, student-faculty ratio, percentage of faculty who are full-time and percentage of faculty with highest degree in their field.

• Student selectivity, 15 percent: Based on test scores, high school rank and acceptance rate (the ratio of students admitted to applicants).

• Financial resources, 10 percent: Based on spending per student on instruction, research, student services and related educational expenditures.

• Graduation rate performance, 5 percent: Based on the difference between the school’s six-year graduation rate for the class that enrolled in 1996 and the “predicted” rate determined by test scores of first-year students and other factors.

• Alumni giving, 5 percent: Based on the average percentage of alumni who gave during 2000–01 and 2001–02.

For more information about the survey, go to www.usnews.com and click on the Best Colleges icon.