Wagner makes Forbes’ 2014 Top Colleges list

For the second year in a row, Wagner College appears on the Forbes 2014 Top Colleges list, produced in partnership with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for College Affordability and Productivity. This is the seventh year Forbes and CCAP have produced the list, which was released this morning.

“The Forbes list of 650 schools distinguishes itself from competitors by our belief in ‘output’ over ‘input,’ ” explains Forbes Top Colleges editor Caroline Howard. “We’re not all that interested in what gets a student into college, like our peers who focus heavily on selectivity metrics such as high school class rank, SAT scores and the like. Our sights are set directly on ROI: What are students getting out of college?”

Wagner College ranked squarely in the middle of the Forbes 2014 Top Colleges — number 355 out of 650 — and posted even better in the specific rankings for alumni salaries (64) and actual graduation rate (195).

Compiling the 2014 Forbes/CCAP Rankings

By the staff of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity

The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, in conjunction with Forbes, compiled its college rankings using five general categories, with several component factors within each category. The weightings for each category and component are listed below in parentheses; an extended narrative explaining these criteria, and the methodology for the rankings, can be found on the Center for College Affordability website, along with a breakdown of all schools for every ranking component.

1. Student Satisfaction (25%)

Student Evaluations from RateMyProfessor.com (10%)
Actual Freshman-to-Sophomore Retention Rates (12.5%)
Predicted vs. Actual Freshman-to-Sophomore Retention Rates (2.5%)

2. Post-Graduate Success (32.5%)

Salary of Alumni from Payscale.com (10%)
American Leaders List (22.5%) — Many appear on various Forbes lists (e.g., Power Women, 30 Under 30, CEOs on the Global 2000), plus Nobel and Pulitzer winners, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellows, those elected to the National Academy of Sciences and winners of an Academy, Emmy, Tony or Grammy.

3. Student Debt (25%)

Average Federal Student Loan Debt Load (10%)
Student Loan Default Rates (12.5%)
Predicted vs. Actual Percent of Students Taking Federal Loans (2.5%)

4. Four-year Graduation Rate (7.5%)

Actual Four-year Graduation Rate (5%)
Predicted vs. Actual Four-year Graduation Rate(2.5%)

5. Academic Success (10%)

Student Nationally Competitive Awards (7.5%) like the Rhodes, the National Science Foundation and the Fulbright
Alumni Receiving Ph.D.s (2.5%)

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