Purchase Among Best Liberal Arts Colleges in New U.S. News & World Report’s Rankings

HARRISON, NY — Purchase College, State University of New York, is included among the 239 best National Liberal Arts Colleges listed in the 2017 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges.

Only 19 other schools on the list are public universities. The college was also included in the list of most ethnically diverse liberal arts colleges.

“We’re proud that once again Purchase has been nationally recognized for its commitment to academic excellence,” said Thomas J. Schwarz, president of Purchase College, in a statement about the ranking. “We remain dedicated to providing the highest quality education in the liberal arts, sciences, and performing and visual arts. We are proud to provide an affordable and accessible experience, while nurturing the creative process and open-minded engagement that are the hallmarks of a Purchase education.”

In addition to the U.S. News & World Report recognition, Purchase College has recently been included on other significant college ranking lists, school officials noted. The Princeton Review named Purchase College in its Best 381 Colleges, 2017 Edition, which praised Purchase’s faculty members who “bring the material [to] life and take learning outside the classroom,” in addition to its “artsy, unique, passionate, intelligent,” student body. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance named Purchase College to its 2016 list of “100 Best Values in Public Colleges.”

“The U.S. News & World Report rankings are a testament to the excellent programs and services provided by faculty and staff across SUNY, and a reminder to our current and future students that SUNY is dedicated to providing them with a highly valuable degree that will serve them well long after graduation,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Congratulations to Purchase College on this much-deserved recognition.”

U.S. News’ rankings are considered an important resource for many. The news organization spends months compiling data from hundreds of schools around the country. While U.S. News & World Report ended its print magazine in 2010, it still publishes online and a print version of its college rankings.

SEE: U.S. News & World Report Releases 2017 College Rankings

So, how are the rankings compiled?

U.S. News Chief Data Strategist Robert Morse told Patch that the publication considers objective factors such as graduation and retention rates.

More specifically, U.S. News uses five categories of data that are all weighted differently.

• Outcomes (30 percent): Hard student performance data such as retention, graduation rate performance and graduation rate.
• Expert opinion (22.5 percent): More subjective data that includes opinions of presidents, provosts, high school counselors and admissions deans.
• Faculty resources (20 percent): Class size, student-to-faculty ratio, proportion of full-time faculty, proportion of professors with the highest degrees in their field and faculty salary.
• Student excellence (12.5 percent): How incoming students are performing on measures such as ACT/SAT scores, proportion of first-year students in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class and acceptance rate.
• Financial resources (10 percent): How much money the school spends on things such as instruction, research and student services. (Spending on dorms, food and sports don’t count.)
• Alumni giving (5 percent): What percentage of living alumni with a bachelor’s degree have given to their school that year.

Read the full methodology here.
“College is expensive,” Morse told Patch in an email. “In addition to considering factors like location, cost, course offerings and activities, families should pay close attention to graduation and retention rates.

PHOTO/ Purchase College