Wheaton Makes Forbes List of Top Colleges

in Norton made Forbes' most recent list of the top colleges in America.

 The small, four-year private liberal arts college was ranked 166th overall, right behind the University of Southern California and just ahead of University of California, Santa Barbara. Wheaton also ranked 144^th for private colleges and is the 68^th best college in the northeast.

 Wheaton was founded in 1834 as a female seminary. It became a women's college in 1912. The school began admitting men in 1988. Wheaton presently has a total of 1,632 students. The student to faculty ratio is 11:1. The average class size is between 15 and 20. Fifty-nine percent of those who apply to Wheaton College are accepted. The total annual cost to attend is $53,264.

 Forbes said its rankings were based on quality of teaching, great career prospects, graduation rates and low levels of debt.

 Williams College was ranked first, followed by Princeton and West Point, respectively.