The 2019 U.S. News college rankings, released Monday, placed Boston College at No. 38, tied with The College of William and Mary and the University of California Davis. This represents a drop from last year’s rankings, which had BC and William and Mary tied at 32. BC received an overall score of 68/100.
Some of the University’s Boston neighbors were placed nearby in the rankings. Boston University sits at 42 and Northeastern is tied for 44. The University of Notre Dame, ranked 18th, and Georgetown University, ranked 22th, both outstripped BC.
This year’s rankings were based on faculty resources, expert opinions, financial resources, student excellence, alumni giving, and outcomes. Outcomes, which was the only category to be given more weight than last year, consists of graduates’ social mobility, graduation and retention rates, and graduation rate performance.
In a statement released Monday, the University explained that the altered methodology pushed BC down to its current rank, specifically naming the new emphasis on the outcomes of Pell Grant recipients, which skew towards larger state schools. The statement also cited elimination of acceptance rates and the lessened consideration of more general markers of student success.
The Carroll School of Management rose three positions to 23rd in U.S. News’s “Best Undergraduate Business Programs” rankings. CSOM was ranked ninth in finance, 11th in management, 13th in entrepreneurship, 27th in marketing, and 31st in accounting, according to the release.
BC clocked in at 33rd on the list of best value schools. The category is a combination of three variables, weighted 60 percent, 25 percent, and 15 percent, respectively. The first consideration is the ratio of academic quality to the cost of attendance for a student with the average amount of need-based aid. The next factor is the percentage of students who received need-based scholarships or grants last year. Finally, U.S. News looks at the amount of the total cost of attendance that was covered by the average need-based scholarship or grant.
The University also tied with Clemson University and University of Chicago at 16th for best undergraduate teaching in the nation.
Featured Image by Celine Lim / Heights Editor
