Rankings Roundup and What Others Say

Centre President John Roush frequently counsels members of the Centre community to enjoy the College's high rankings, while at the same time taking them with a large grain of salt.

But he also points out that the rankings matter and that “considered collectively…they have substance.”

He goes on to say, “If a school is highly ranked and regarded in virtually all the lists and guidebooks—which make their determinations based on widely varying methodologies—it's fairly likely that good things are happening in terms of the education being provided to young men and women on that campus. This is the case with Centre College to a remarkable degree. Wherever you look—from U.S. News to Forbes to Colleges That Change Lives to the National Survey of Student Engagement—you'll find Centre among the leaders. Very few educational institutions in the U.S. are regarded so favorably by so many.”

President Roush interviewed by Business Lexington: Staying Centre'd — Centre President John Roush keeps rankings in perspective

Rankings Summary

The Alumni Factor

Centre ranks #11 among 53 Liberal Arts Colleges and #18 overall among 177 Alumni Factor Schools. Centre College is likely one of the best colleges in the U.S. Centre grads simply can't glow enough about their tiny academic gem in the geographic center of Kentucky. (December 2012)

The National Survey of Student Engagement

Centre educational experience well above national average according to NSSE (December 2012)

Centre exceeds national average in all NSSE categories (November 2011)

More about Centre and NSSE

U.S. News & World Report

Centre ranked #6 for Most Alumni Donors by U.S. News (January 2013)

Centre College alumni giving and faculty each ranked #5 in nation by U.S. News (September 2012)

U.S. News ranks Centre College #31 “Best Value” in nation (September 2012)

U.S. News ranks Centre College #42 in the nation (September 2011)

Ranked #42, “National Liberal Arts Colleges” category
Ranked #15, “Best Undergraduate Teaching” category
Ranked #27, “Best Schools, Best Values” category
Ranked #53, “High School Counselors” category
Ranked #3, “Most Students Studying Abroad”category
Ranked #8, “Students Receiving Merit Aid”category
Top 10 Most Loved Schools: More alumni give money to these schools than to any other institutions (Centre alumni giving ranks at 56.7 percent) (September 2011)

Forbes Magazine

Vice Presidential Debate a top news story for 2012, says Forbes (January 2013)

Forbes ranks Centre among the best of “America’s Top Colleges” (August 2012)

Ranked #34, “Best 50 Colleges” category (combines all colleges and universities) (August 2011)

Forbes economist calls Centre “one of the finest schools in the U.S.”

“Centre offers a first-rate education, and deeply cares about its students,” writes economist Richard Vedder in his recent “Innovations” blog entry, titled “The Kentucky Advantage,” for the Chronicle of Higher Education. (January 2012)

The Institute of International Education "Open Doors"

Centre ranked #1 in the nation for study abroad. The #1 ranking is the first ever for Centre College, which is routinely among the nation’s top five colleges for study abroad. While the top ranking is for baccalaureate colleges alone, Centre’s participation rate among all colleges and universities places it at #2 in the nation for all types, including larger public and private institutions. (November 2012)

Kiplinger’s ranks Centre College #23 among nation’s Best Values

“The Kiplinger ranking should be of great and increasing interest to prospective students and their families in an environment of rising educational costs and the understandable criticism of the ‘value’ of a college degree,” says John A. Roush, president of Centre College. “Our mission is to be a place of high achievement and high opportunity. So, we focus on cost and value, and our high Kiplinger ranking suggests we are meeting this commitment. (October 2012)

Centre College was named one of the top 200 Best Values in Private Colleges by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

200 Colleges Named Best Values in Private Colleges by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. The report ranked the schools based on outstanding academics and great economic value. Centre College placed in the top 200 because of a high four-year graduation rate, low average student debt at graduation, good student-to-faculty ratio, excellent on-campus resources and overall great value. (October 2011)

Featured as one of nation’s “best colleges”
Named a “best value” private college
Highest academic ranking of any college or university in the state

Centre again named one of Princeton Review’s top green colleges (April 2011)

Fiske Guide to Colleges

“2013 Fiske Guide to Colleges” touts Centre’s academic strength, faculty, community (August 2012)

Fiske Guide to Colleges calls Centre College “certainly the best” (August 2011)

Yale’s The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges

Centre “provides its 1,215 students with a unique education that includes going to the ballet or to see a musical for credit, a guaranteed internship and semester abroad, and...200 years of history.”

What Others Say

Colleges That Change Lives

“College isn’t just about the end result. It’s also about the means, the process, the path you take to earn your degree, whom you meet, and who inspires and mentors you,” Pope and Oswald write. “To find a life-changing college, you must pay attention to how a college educates its undergraduates.” (September 2012)

Sweet Sixteen: Great Colleges of the South

Centre recognized in new book about “Great Colleges of the South” (March 2012)

Centre named one of ‘America’s Coolest Schools’ by the Sierra Club

Centre was recently named one of “America’s Coolest Schools” in the Sierra Club’s fifth annual ranking of the greenest colleges in the United States. Over 100 colleges comprise the list — but Centre is one of only fifteen of the top fifty colleges in the nation as ranked by US News " World Report to make the cut. (October 2011)

Washington Post

Washington Post rates Centre among top five institutions for highest study time (May 2012)

Chronicle of Higher Education

Kentucky Monthly

Ranked No. 1 on list of The 5 Coolest College Towns in Kentucky

“There's a little college down in Kentucky which in 60 years has graduated more men who have acquired prominence and fame than has Princeton in her 150 years.”
—Woodrow Wilson in 1903

“Centre College graduates have a proud tradition of service and dedication to the good of the nation.”
—Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, speaking at a recent Commencement

Click here for PDF.

Washington Monthly named Centre College #36 among the nation’s top 254 liberal arts colleges. The magazine uses a unique ranking system that looks at the college's contribution to the public good.

Princeton Review 2013

The Princeton Review named Centre one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education on its list of the top colleges in the nation. “Students love this combination of global ... and personal learning [at Centre],” the review says.

The “2013 Fiske Guide to Colleges” has recognized Centre as one of the best institutions of higher education in the country. The guide touts Centre’s study abroad program, which offers travel options in China (above), England, France, Mexico, Japan and Ireland.