Grove City College is recognized as one of America’s best national liberal arts schools in U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings.
The College’s engineering programs also earned a venerable spot on U.S. News’ 2020 Best Colleges list of top institutions to attend in pursuit of an undergraduate degree in the field.
“This ranking recognizes Grove City College’s status as one of America’s best liberal arts and sciences colleges, and continues to place us in an elite group of higher education institutions that enjoy national recognition in addition to regional prominence,” College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said. “We are blessed to be distinguished in this way, and we will remain laser-focused on our vision to develop leaders of the highest proficiency, purpose and principles ready to advance the common good.”
“We know that prospective parents and students appreciate the academic excellence reflected in these rankings, but rankings cannot fully capture our distinctive Christ-centered living and learning community that is transforming the lives of our students,” McNulty said.
The rankings, released Monday, put Grove City College at number 114 on the list of top national liberal arts colleges. The College moved up six places from last year, when it was ranked 120, and continues a steady upward trajectory for the perennial Best Colleges pick.
U.S. News evaluated almost 2,000 colleges and university for the survey and ranked 1,400. National Liberal Arts Colleges emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.
Rankings are based on student outcomes, including retention and graduation rates, faculty qualifications, admissions data, institutional reputation and the quality of students based on test scores and class rank, all areas in which Grove City College excels.
The College’s 82-percent four-year graduation rate is nearly twice the national average and its sophomore-to-freshman retention rate, a key indicator of student satisfaction, stands at 92 percent. Nearly all of the College’s more than 150 full-time faculty members hold terminal degrees and a third of incoming freshman are in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. While U.S. News doesn’t consider post-graduate outcomes, an average of 96 percent of Grove City College graduates are working or in graduate school within six months of graduation. Alumni salaries trend 15 percent or more above national averages.
The College’s ABET-accredited Mechanical and Electrical and Computer engineering programs rank 75 on U.S. News’ rankings of the 100 best undergraduate programs. At Grove City College, budding engineers are instructed by experts in the discipline, conduct research, complete senior capstone projects and study abroad at the College’s European Study Center in Nantes, France, or work in industry before graduation. Engineering graduates have a near-100 percent placement rate in jobs or graduate school.