Xavier University, the University of Dayton and the College of Mount St. Joseph are the among the best regional schools for college-bound students in the Midwest, according to U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Colleges" guide.
The rankings, released Thursday, will appear in the magazine's Sept. 1 issue, on newsstands Monday.
The University of Dayton was named third-best regional university in the Midwest. Xavier University ranked eighth; the College of Mount St. Joseph 12th. Creighton University in Nebraska ranked first.
The study ranked 1,400 accredited four-year colleges in 16 categories. Information was gathered from questionnaires completed by school administrators and education groups such as the U.S. Department of Education and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Criteria included graduation - retention and acceptance rates, debt load, class size, faculty resources, alumni giving, student-faculty ratio, standardized test scores and freshman retention rates. The rankings are based on that information, as well as reputations (as determined by surveys of the schools' administrators).
Other rankings:
Top public national universities. Ohio State University ranked 22nd. The University of Virginia ranked first.
Best values - Discount prices. College of Mount St. Joseph ranked fourth among Midwestern schools for offering a high-quality education at a reasonable cost. The top Midwestern school was Capital University in Columbus.
Operating efficiently. Miami University ranked fifth nationwide in providing a high-quality education while spending relatively less. Ranked first was Florida State University.
Acceptance rates. Wilberforce University was among the Midwest's top four regional liberal arts colleges with the lowest acceptance rates, at 46 percent accepted. Wright State University was in the top 12 national schools with the highest acceptance rates, at 91 percent accepted. Cleveland State University, the University of Southwestern Louisiana and Utah State University led the nation, with 99 percent of applicants accepted.
Graduation rates. College of Mount St. Joseph and University of Dayton were among the top five regional universities in the Midwest with the highest graduation rates, at 76 percent and 75 percent graduating, respectively. Wright State was among the 15 schools in the nation with the lowest graduation rates, at 32 percent graduating. Harvard University had the highest rate in the nation, with 97 percent graduating.
