Among the Best: Lawrence University Again Included in U.S. News & World Report's Top 50 Colleges

APPLETON, WIS. -- For the third consecutive year and fourth time in the last five years, Lawrence University has earned a spot in the top tier of the U.S. News & World Report's annual college rankings released Thursday. The rankings will appear in the magazine's annual guide that hits newsstands Sept. 10.

In U.S. News's 15th annual "America's Best Colleges" report, Lawrence was ranked 48th in the "Best Liberal Arts Colleges - Bachelor's" category from among the nation's 218 leading national liberal arts colleges.

Amherst College and Swarthmore College, which were ranked first and second, respectively, last year, shared the top spot this year among national liberal arts colleges.

"Lawrence is obviously pleased to be counted once again among the top tier of the U.S. News rankings," said President Richard Warch. "At the same time, we believe that these rankings do not -- and do not pretend to -- tell the whole story, or even the most relevant and compelling story, about individual colleges and universities. The attributes of Lawrence today in terms of student engagement with their studies, their professors and their peers are the ones we celebrate and promote and in which we take greatest pride."

For the eighth year in a row, Lawrence also was cited among the nation's "best values" by U.S. News, earning a 31st-place ranking. The best value ranking is based on an institution's academic quality and the net cost for students receiving the average level of financial aid. During the past academic year, Lawrence distributed more than $11.3 million in financial aid to more than 85% of its students with an average need-based financial aid package of $18,698.

Arguably the best known and most influential of the numerous college ranking guides released each year, U.S. News evaluates nearly 1,400 of the nation's public and private four-year schools, dividing them into several distinct categories.

U.S. News renamed its categories this year to better reflect the institution's missions as described by The Carnegie Foundation classification system. The categories are based on such factors as types of degrees granted (bachelor's, master's and doctorates), number of majors offered and faculty research.

The magazine's reclassified categories for this year's rankings included national universities - doctoral; liberal arts colleges - bachelor's; universities - master's; and comprehensive colleges - bachelor's. The universities - master's and comprehensive colleges - bachelor's categories were further subdivided into North, South, Midwest and West geographic regions.

U.S. News' rankings are based on a variety of weighted criteria, including student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rates, faculty resources and alumni satisfaction, among others.