CSB, SJU both rated highly by national publications

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University were recently highly rated in national rankings of liberal arts colleges by two magazines.

CSB and SJU were again ranked among the top 90 liberal arts colleges in the country in the U.S. News and World Report 2018 College Rankings. Both schools were also among the top 45 liberal arts colleges in the country in the 2017 Washington Monthly rankings.

U.S. News rankings

In the U.S. News rating of National Liberal Arts Colleges, SJU tied for 85th and CSB tied for 87th.

This is the first time that CSB and SJU have essentially been ranked identically by U.S. News, which has conducted the rankings yearly since 1984 (rankings were not done in 1985 or 1987).

U.S. News ranked the top 172 liberal arts colleges which emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. Schools ranked No. 173 and below were listed alphabetically.

Criteria for the rankings include graduation and retention rates; undergraduate academic reputation among counselors and peers; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; graduation rate performance; and alumnae/i giving (the average percentage of living alumnae/i with bachelor's degrees who gave during 2014-15 and 2015-16).

Additionally, CSB and SJU were both ranked among the leaders in study abroad programs.

Washington Monthly rankings

In a separate rating recently released, CSB was ranked No. 19 (up 15 spots from last year) and SJU was ranked No. 42 in the Washington Monthly rankings of liberal arts colleges. A total of 240 liberal arts schools were ranked by Washington Monthly.

Washington Monthly rated schools based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and Ph.D.'s), and service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).

The magazine also offered a “Best Bang for the Bucks” category, with CSB ranking No. 10 and SJU No. 34. It is a listing of 240 liberal arts schools that help non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.