Saint Mary’s College Again Ranks Among the Top 100 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

September 13, 2016 (Notre Dame, Ind.) — Saint Mary’s College remains among the top 100 institutions on the annual U.S. News & World Report’s Best National Liberal Arts Colleges list, which was released today. The College comes in at 95 out of more than 200 liberal arts colleges. It’s the eighth consecutive year for a top 100 ranking. Access to the national rankings can be found beginning today online or printed in the new “Best Colleges 2017” guidebook. Saint Mary’s has been nationally ranked for more than a decade.

“We’re proud to be recognized for the quality of a Saint Mary’s education, which reflects the dedication and expertise of our faculty and the ability of our student body,” Saint Mary’s College President Jan Cervelli said of the rankings. “Perhaps what’s most distinctive about the Saint Mary’s experience — our spiritual commitment to educating the whole person — cannot be captured in a ranking, but it’s gratifying to receive the acknowledgement of experts and peers for the work that we do.”

U.S. News uses many indicators to capture academic quality, including assessment by administrators at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving and graduation rate.

At Saint Mary’s, approximately 93 percent of students who graduate earn a degree in four years, compared to 80 percent at other non-profit private schools and 58 percent at public institutions.* In addition, Saint Mary’s exceeded the U.S. News projected six-year graduation rate for the College by six percentage points.

There are other indicators of academic quality and value of a Saint Mary’s education as well. For instance, according to the College’s Office of Institutional Research, one year after graduation 94 percent of the Class of 2015 graduates were employed and/or enrolled in graduate or professional school or engaged in other full-time activities such as volunteer work.

* These figures are based on the percentage of total graduates in eight years who graduate in four-years or less. Data comes from the National Center for Educational Statistics IPEDS Data Center using the 2007 entering cohort data graduating in eight years.

About Saint Mary's College: Celebrating over 175 years of empowering women to make a difference in the world, Saint Mary’s College is recognized as a pioneer and continued force in the education of women. A Catholic, liberal arts institution in Notre Dame, Indiana, the College offers more than 50 undergraduate academic programs and also offers co-educational master’s degrees.

Contact for News Media: Haleigh Ehmsen, Media Relations Associate, Saint Mary’s College, hehmsen@saintmarys.edu (574) 284-5343

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