VA Schools Among U.S. News’ 2022-2023 Best Colleges

VIRGINIA — Forty colleges and universities in Virginia are among higher education institutions included in the 2022-2023 Best Colleges rankings released Monday by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News has been publishing the respected guide for prospective students and families for nearly 40 years. Methodology has changed over the years to reflect changes in higher education, Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News, said in a news release.

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,” Castro said.

U.S. News ranked 1,500 colleges and universities across 17 academic measures. To rank colleges, U.S. News first places each school into a category based on its mission and, in some cases, its geographic location.

National universities, which focus on research and offer several doctoral programs, are ranked separately from liberal arts colleges.

Virginia schools that made the ranking include:

National Universities

• University of Virginia, Charlottesville, ranked 25
• William & Mary, Williamsburg, ranked 41
• Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, ranked 62
• George Mason University, Fairfax, ranked 137
• James Madison University, Harrisonburg, ranked 151

National Liberal Arts Colleges

• Washington and Lee University, Lexington, ranked 11
• University of Richmond, Richmond, ranked 18
• Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, ranked 70
• Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, ranked 94
• Hollins University, Roanoke, ranked 102

Regional Colleges South

• Averett University, Danville, ranked 24
• Ferrum College, Ferrum, ranked 51

Regional Universities South

• Christopher Newport University, Newport News, ranked 5
• Longwood University, Farmville, ranked 16
• Emory & Henry College, Emory, ranked 20
• Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, ranked 34
• Norfolk State University, Norfolk, ranked 63

Overall, the top three schools in each category are:

National Universities

1. Princeton University (New Jersey)
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Tie: Harvard University (Massachusetts), Stanford University (California) and Yale University (Connecticut)

National Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Williams College (Massachusetts)
2. Amherst College (Massachusetts)
3. Pomona College (California)

National Universities (Public)

1. Tie: University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Los Angeles

3. Tie: University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and University of Virginia

National Liberal Arts Colleges (Public)

1. United States Naval Academy
2. United States Military Academy at West Point
3. United States Air Force Academy

Top Performers on Social Mobility — National Universities

1. Keiser University (Florida)
2. University of California, Riverside
3. California State University – Long Beach

Top Performers on Social Mobility — National Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Salem College (North Carolina)
2. Lake Forest College (Illinois)
3. Tougaloo College (Mississippi)

To compile the rankings, U.S. News focuses on academic quality and places emphasis on outcome measures, including graduation rates, retention rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility. Graduation rates and other outcomes represent 40 percent of each school’s overall score.

U.S. News said it changed how it weights SAT and ACT scores because demand for the college entrance exams plummeted due to the pandemic, especially among students living in low-income households.

Part-time faculty members were considered in measures on faculty resources, reflecting a trend for more part-time instructors, U.S. News said. Previously, only full-time instructors were considered.

Read more about the methodology.