Elon University is ranked eighth among 131 Southern master’s-level universities in the 2003 “America’s Best Colleges” guide published by U.S. News & World Report. It is Elon’s highest ranking ever in the nation’s most widely read rankings of colleges and universities.
Elon also earns top positions in new national rankings by the magazine that recognize outstanding examples of academic programs that enhance learning and lead to student success. Elon ranks 14th among the nation’s 1,400 colleges and universities in programs for first-year students. Elon also ranks 14th in service-learning programs that involve students in volunteer activities in their communities. Elon ranks 31st in study abroad programs. Selection for these new rankings were based on nominations from college presidents, chief academic officers and deans of students from across the nation.
“We are proud that Elon’s outstanding programs for new students and those involved in service learning and study abroad have earned the praise of our peers,” says Leo M. Lambert, Elon president. “The new ‘Programs That Really Work’ rankings by U.S. News & World Report give prospective students and their parents new information that will be valuable in helping them choose the right college.”
U.S. News ranks Elon fourth among Southern universities in academic reputation, third in freshman retention rate and fifth in graduation rate, key measures of student success. Elon’s overall rank of 8th in the 12-state Southern region is up from 9th in the 2002 rankings and 11th in the 2001 rankings.
Listed below is the Southern universities ranking along with the national “Programs That Really Work” rankings that include Elon:
- Best Universities – Master’s – South
1. University of Richmond (Va.)
2. Rollins College (Fla.)
3. James Madison University (Va.)
4. Stetson University (Fla.)
5. Samford University (Ala.)
6. Loyola University of New Orleans (La.)
7. The Citadel (S.C.)
8. (tie) Elon University (N.C.)
Mercer University (Ga.)
10. Centenary College of Louisiana (La.)
11. (tie) Appalachian State University (N.C.)
Meredith College (N.C.)
First-year experiences
1. U. of South Carolina – Columbia
2. Brevard College
3. Appalachian State University
4. Princeton University
5. (tie) Duke University
Stanford University
7. (tie) Ohio State U.–Columbus
University of Notre Dame
William Jewell College
10. (tie) Harvard University
UNC Chapel Hill
12. (tie) Indiana U. – Bloomington
U. of Maryland – College Park
14. (tie) Elon University
Beloit College
16. (tie) Alverno College
College of the Holy Cross
Evergreen State College
Lawrence University
Miami University – Oxford
Wake Forest University
23. (tie) Arizona State University
Dartmouth College
University of Richmond
University of Virginia
Wagner College
Service Learning
1. (tie)Berea College
Stanford University
University of Pennsylvania
2. (tie) Portland State University
U. of Michigan – Ann Arbor
6. University of Utah
7. University of Notre Dame
8. (tie) Indiana U. – Purdue U. – Indianapolis
Trinity College
10. (tie) Bentley College
Brown University
Georgetown University
Providence College
14. (tie) Elon University
University of Southern California
Warren Wilson College
17. (tie) Alverno College
Cornell University
Vanderbilt University
20. Tufts University
21. (tie) Augsburg College
Defiance College
U. of Wisconsin – Madison
24. (tie) James Madison University
U. of California – Berkeley
U. of Maryland – College Park
Study Abroad
1. Kalamazoo College
2. Arcadia University
3. St. Olaf College
4. Michigan State University
5. (tie) Dickinson College
Middlebury College
Syracuse University
8. Georgetown University
9. Boston University
10. (tie) Central College
Dartmouth College
Macalester College
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
14. (tie)Carleton College
University of Wisconsin – Madison
16. (tie)Earlham College
Goshen College
Stanford University
19. (tie)Beloit College
New York University
21. (tie)Bates College
Butler University
Duke University
Lewis and Clark College
Trinity University
University of Pennsylvania
27. (tie) Colby College
Connecticut College
29. (tie) Indiana University – Bloomington
University of Notre Dame
31. (tie) Elon University
Boston College
Grinnell College
34. (tie) Columbia University
Tufts University
36. (tie) Pomona College
Smith College
St. John’s University (Minn.)
39. (tie)Amherst College
Centre College
College of St. Benedict
Harvard University
Loyola University Chicago
Northwestern University
Quachita Baptist University
Pitzer College
Queens University of Charlotte
Sweet Briar College
Taylor University
University of Evansville
University of Texas – Austin
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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