Best Colleges? |

Yesterday, we talked about the top high schools in the US. Today, we’ll regard how colleges rank.

I am sure y’all are familiar with the US News & World Report ranking of colleges. Mostly because most of the upper echelon schools (colleges, med schools, law schools) stopped providing data to the publication. After some analysis, they felt (correctly) that the rankings were skewed.

Well, the Wall Street Journal just ranked some 400 colleges. And, they used a set of criteria that really is exemplary. Their ranking is based upon outcomes, not inputs (such as selectivity, as was the norm in the US News ranking).

There were three criteria employed- student outcomes (70%), the learning environment (20%), and diversity (10%). This means graduation rates and the salaries one obtains by completing the program (compared to those who only went through high school) is the primary measure. (WSJ estimated the total net price for a four year education using the first year’s tuition.) For the learning environment, WSJ polled the students at the schools (in concert with College Pulse) for the frequency of learning opportunities and career preparation. Given that socializing with a diverse population is critical for success in later life, the WSJ included racial, ethnic, socioeconomics, and disability in their ranking.

Here are the top 10 private colleges.