Hillsdale College tied with Denison University in Ohio for the 39th best liberal arts college in the nation according to the U.S. News and World Report, which released its 2024 annual college rankings this September.
The top liberal arts colleges on the list are Williams College, Amherst College, and the U.S. Naval Academy. According to U.S. News, schools are assessed on a variety of factors such as graduation rate, retention rate, faculty salaries, and social mobility.
Recently, Hillsdale has seen an upward trajectory in these rankings. In 2021, U.S. News placed Hillsdale at 54th among liberal arts colleges. According to Hillsdale’s website, the college has placed in the top 100 liberal arts colleges by the report since 2013.
College President Larry Arnn said the ratings continue to impress him.
“We’ve risen greatly in the rankings,” Arnn said. “Do we deserve better? I think so. But we have to take it. Back in the day we were 110th. We were tier three, but we’re tier one now.”
But numerical rankings cannot encompass the full picture of a college, according to Arnn.
“Some of the things they measure are valuable, but most of the important things are missing,” Arnn said. “People want to come here and work here because of the meaning and the mission of Hillsdale College. That can’t be quantified into statistics.”
Sophomore Mattie Grace Watson said she agrees with Arnn’s assessment.
“Hillsdale is such a unique school because it offers students an education that will accompany them for life and shape them as a whole person,” Watson said. “Most colleges simply give you a four year degree to put on your resume. There truly is no way to wholly measure Hillsdale’s quality of education in comparison to the education of other colleges because the liberal arts education we embark on sets us on a journey for life and not just for a degree.”
The rankings come on the heels of a number of controversies over college rankings. Yale and Harvard Law Schools, as well as a number of prominent medical schools, chose to pull out of the ranking process. Yale’s and Harvard’s undergraduate programs still participate in the rankings.
