Meredith College improved to number two on the 2014 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s list of the South’s Best Regional Colleges. The latest rankings were released on September 10.
Meredith was also named to the “Great Schools, Great Prices” list, ranked 6th among regional colleges in the South. U.S. News describes this ranking as “taking into account a school’s academic quality, and the 2012-13 cost of attendance for students who receive the average level of need-based financial aid.” The publication’s “Great Schools, Great Prices” list considers quality as well as cost, noting “the higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal.”
The U.S. News ranking system places colleges and universities in one of four categories: national universities, national liberal arts colleges, regional universities and regional colleges.
U.S. News divides colleges and universities by the following regions: North, South, West and Midwest. Schools are ranked using several indicators including peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources (class size, faculty/student ratio, percentage of full-time faculty), student selectivity (average SAT scores, acceptance rate) and alumni giving percentage.
For more information, visit www.usnews.com/colleges.
The U.S. News & World Report ranking is the latest accolade earned by Meredith College.
Meredith’s financial health was recently noted in the U.S. Education Department’s annual report on the financial responsibility of colleges and universities released on July 22. Meredith earned the highest rating given by the organization. The test uses an institution’s primary reserve, equity, and net income ratios as indicators.
The College also made The Princeton Review’s “Best in the Southeast” list for 2014. Colleges chosen for the “regional best” list constitute only 25% of the nation’s four-year colleges. Selection is based primarily on excellent academic programs. Secondarily, The Princeton Review considers what students attending the schools reported about their campus experiences.
-Melyssa Allen, Marketing
beyondthebackgate.com 
Leave a Reply