The University of Mary Washington kicked off the Fall 2019 semester by racking up a ranking based on one of its core principles – service.
As students hurried across campus on the first official day of classes, Washington Monthly today released its 2019 College Rankings, placing UMW among the nation’s elite by including it in not one but two categories: Best Master’s Universities and Best Bang for the Buck. Departing from measurements used by other college guides, Washington Monthly distinguishes itself as “rating schools based on what they do for the country and the public good.” Since 2005, the magazine has ranked institutions on their ability to promote upward mobility, produce scholars and scholarship, and encourage students to be active citizens.
In the guide, UMW ranked 32, taking the second highest distinction in the state of Virginia, among master’s universities, which the publication defines as “four-year institutions that award . . . master’s degrees but few or no doctoral degrees.” The distinction took into account factors such as graduation rate, median earnings, net price and loan repayment rate.
Mary Washington also landed 39th in the nation among the top 267 colleges and universities in the publication’s Best Bang for the Buck Southeast category, which sizes up schools’ ability to help non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.
“It’s a very different definition of what makes colleges excellent, one that is gaining traction among philanthropists, policymakers and the public at large,” according to an email from the magazine’s editors. The correspondence quotes New York Times columnist Frank Bruni as saying “Washington Monthly is judging institutions’ characters as much as their clout.”
Learn more about UMW’s results in Washington Monthly 2019 College Rankings.
