Forbes ranks Centre No. 13 in the nation

RELEASED: August 14, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College has been named the No. 13 best institution in the nation among colleges and universities in first-ever rankings by Forbes magazine. Centre also ranks No. 12 on its "Top Private Colleges" list and is among the magazine's list of "30 College Ranking Surprises." The rankings include 569 undergraduate institutions.

“We are delighted to see Forbes magazine identify Centre as one of the nation’s best institutions of higher education," says Centre President John Roush. "These rankings, of course, do not tell the whole story of the many outstanding colleges and universities in America, but they can be valuable to students and families as they seek to identify those institutions that have an earned reputation for highest achievement. Centre is proud to be an institution where high achievement is prized and high opportunity for young men and women needing financial assistance to attend has been preserved.”

Centre's No. 13 spot is the highest ranking of any Kentucky institution, with the next closest-ranked school appearing at No. 83 on the overall list.

How these rankings work: Forbes' methodology included rankings from more than 7 million student evaluations. They looked at how many of the school's alumni, adjusted for the size of the school, are listed among notables in Who's Who in America, and also at ratings on the Web site Ratemyprofessor.com. A large percentage of their ranking method included: debt level at graduation, percentage of students graduating in four years, and number of students or faculty who have won nationally competitive awards like Rhodes Scholarships.

According to the Forbes article, Centre was in the top 10 percent of schools in all of the above selection criteria.

In response to the question, "What is the best reason for a prospective student to choose your school?" Forbes published an answer from Centre student Josh Stevens '09:

"It's the community. We says it's 'personal education/extraordinary success"—that's the tagline—but it's the personal education part that is why a prospective student should look here. You have small classes with faculty who are always wanting to help you out as much as they can. They want you to excel at your interest, so they're willing to help you further your educational plans."

Forbes' stellar ranking is one of many Centre has received. Consumers Digest named Centre the No. 1 educational value in the nation, and U.S. News consistently ranks Centre among the top-50 schools in the nation (and Centre is the only Kentucky institution in this U.S. News top-50 ranking). In addition, Centre recently was named an outstanding educational institution by The Princeton Review and is the only Kentucky institution to be named a top-30 value among liberal arts colleges by Kiplinger magazine.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.