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WELLESLEY, Mass. - For the fifth consecutive year, U.S.
News & World Report has ranked Wellesley College fourth
among national liberal-arts colleges. For the past 11 years,
Wellesley has placed among the top five colleges in the
annual listing.
"We are pleased that Wellesley College continues to receive
national recognition for the high caliber of its liberal-arts
education," said Andrea Levitt, associate dean of the college.
"Although questions about the methodology used to establish
these particular rankings have been raised, we believe that
Wellesley's strengths as an institution in terms of students,
faculty, staff and alumnae support are outstanding."
This year Wellesley follows Amherst, Swarthmore and Williams
in the college rankings. Wellesley received kudos for its
campus diversity, ranking fifth among liberal-arts colleges
in that category. Under the "Great Schools at Great Prices"
listing, Wellesley made the 17th spot. U.S. News
uses a formula that relates academic quality to the net
cost of attendance considering the average level of financial
aid. In the category of "Highest Graduation Rate," Wellesley
was ranked No. 8, with 90 percent.
Wellesley received high marks for its undergraduate research/creative
projects, a category that included colleges and universities
nationwide. Wellesley ranked 15th on this comprehensive
list, which highlights faculty-mentored student work that
results in an original scholarly paper or other product.
The top three schools in this category were University of
Michigan-Ann Arbor, MIT and Stanford.
Other outstanding categories for Wellesley include its
level of alumnae support, which at 53 percent earned the
College the No. 8 "giving rank" in the nation. Another standout
category is average freshman retention rate, for which Wellesley
boasts a 95 percentage.
The latest edition of U.S. News' "America's Best
Colleges" was published in the weekly magazine dated Sept.
23 and in an annual guide book. The information is also
available on the web at www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php.
Founded in 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in
liberal arts and the education of women for 125 years. The
College's 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate
students.
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