NJIT, Rutgers-Newark Make Cut For ‘Best Colleges’ List: U.S. News

NEWARK, NJ — The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and Rutgers-Newark were among more than two dozen in New Jersey included on the latest version of the U.S. News “Best Colleges” list.

Twenty-nine colleges and universities in New Jersey are among the higher-education institutions included in the 2022-2023 Best Colleges rankings released Monday by U.S. News & World Report. The media outlet ranked 1,500 colleges and universities across the nation this year, rating them on factors such as graduation rates, faculty resources, standardized test scores, financial resources for students and student debt (learn more about the methodology here). Read More: NJ Schools Ranked Among U.S. News' 2022-2023 Best Colleges

This year’s rankings included NJIT, which came in 97th place among national universities, cracking the top 100. Meanwhile, Rutgers University's Newark campus ranked in 115th place.

Pillar College in Newark ranked at a tie at numbers 156 to 201 among liberal arts colleges, which are rated separately.

NJIT administrators noted that the school has risen 21 places on the list over the last two years.

“Joining the Top 100 in U.S. News’ National Universities rankings and ranking No. 42 among public colleges is significant and follows on the heels of being named the No. 1 public university in New Jersey and No. 28 in the nation by Forbes,” NJIT President Teik Lim said.

“What’s most important is that the reason for NJIT’s rise in the rankings and its reputational growth is the success of our students and alumni in their academic and professional career pursuits,” Lim said.

U.S. News touts its ranking for providing millions of parents with “useful data and information to help with one of life’s biggest decisions,” said Kim Castro, chief content officer at U.S. News.

But some educational experts warn against overvaluing college rankings when selecting or evaluating an institution. Some of the issues with university rankings include the downgrading of colleges with less of a budget to promote themselves, important factors that can't be quantified, and subjective reputational factors that often influence placement, writes Alexandru Pop of Studyportals.

James Fallows, a former U.S. News editor, even called the annual ranking "meaningless" in an interview with NPR.

This article contains reporting by Josh Bakan, Patch staff

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page.