Schools
40 PA Colleges Among Best Regional Schools: New U.S. News Rankings
These universities focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.
PENNSYLVANIA— Pennsylvania is home to dozens of of the best regional universities in the country, according to the most recent U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges rankings.
Patch already shared the top overall colleges in Pennsylvania, but the rankings break down into several other categories. One of these is top regional colleges, where the Keystone State had 40 entrants in its region.
The U.S. News and World Report rankings evaluated 1,500 colleges and universities using up to 19 measures of academic quality, the digital media company said in a news release. This year, the company said it significantly altered the way it ranks colleges, placing a greater emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduates.
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These regional colleges focus on undergraduate education, but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines, said U.S. News. The rankings are split into four regions: North, South, Midwest, and West. There are 178 schools in the North region, which Pennsylvania is included in.
Here are the universities in Pennsylvania that were in the top 100 regionally, in the U.S. News rankings for 2023/24:
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- University of Scranton, Scranton
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 5
- Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 8
- St. Francis University, Loretto:
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 30 (tie)
- Messiah University, Mechanicsburg:
- Rank in Regional Universities North:
- Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown:
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 39 (tie)
- Moravian University, Bethlehem:
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 39 (tie)
- Seton Hill University, Greensburg
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 39 (tie)
- Maywood University, Scranton
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 50 (tie)
- Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 50 (tie)
- Mercyhurst University, Erie
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 54 (tie)
- Lebanon Valley College, Annville
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 64
- Arcadia University, Glenside:
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 69 (tie)
- Geneva College, Beaver Falls
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 69 (tie)
- York College, York
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 80 (tie)
- Carlow University, Pittsburgh
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 87 (tie)
- Cedar Crest College, Allentown
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 87 (tie)
- King's College, Wilkes-Barre
- Rank in Regional Universities North: 91 (tie)
As for the top overall colleges in the nation, not much has changed since the 2022–23 rankings — Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology kept their titles as the No. 1 and 2 schools in the country, with Harvard University and Stanford University tying for third, according to the rankings.
Yale University fell two spots from tying for third in 2022-23 to No. 5 in the updated rankings.
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