U.S. News Identifies Allegheny as One of Eight National Liberal Arts Colleges on the Move

Sept. 9, 2014 – Allegheny College is one of only eight schools in its category recognized by U.S. News and World Report as an “Up-and-Comer” in its rankings, released today. Allegheny tied with Colorado College for the No. 2 slot. Allegheny made the “Up-and-Comer” list for the third consecutive year.

“Up-and-Comers” are identified by college presidents, provosts and admissions deans at their peer schools as having recently made, according to U.S. News, “the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus, or facilities.”

U.S. News and World Report also once again names Allegheny College among the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the nation and lists it as an “A+ School for B Students,” a school where good students can expect to succeed even if they enter college without stellar test scores.

The U.S. News rankings are the latest in a number of accolades for the college.

• In August Allegheny was named for the second consecutive year to the Top 25 in the Best Liberal Arts Colleges category of Washington Monthly’s college rankings. Allegheny joins Top 25 perennially elite colleges such as Bryn Mawr, Carleton, Swarthmore, Reed, Macalester, Williams, Oberlin and Haverford. In addition, Washington Monthly ranked Allegheny 34 among liberal arts colleges that represent “the best bang for the buck,” based on the economic value students receive per dollar.

• Also in August, the Princeton Review ranked Allegheny College among the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education. Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges are profiled in the Princeton Review’s 2015 edition of “The Best 379 Colleges.”

• Earlier this summer two organizations recognized Allegheny for its commitment to sustainability. The Sierra Club, the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, again listed Allegheny College among the top colleges and universities in the nation for green initiatives, institutions that the Sierra Club calls “America’s coolest schools.” The Princeton Review again lists Allegheny College in the annual edition of “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 332 Green Colleges.”

• The Peace Corps recognized Allegheny College as one of the top 10 small schools in the nation in the number of Peace Corps volunteers among its graduates.

• Allegheny is among the 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential “Colleges That Change Lives.”

The college has taken national leadership roles both in sustainability and in the national conversation on civility. The Allegheny College Prize for Civility in Public Life, awarded annually at the National Press Club, has put Allegheny at the forefront of the national debate to enhance civility in U.S. politics.

Allegheny requires students to select a minor as well as a major, with the minor outside the academic division of the major, and also requires a Senior Project, a significant piece of independent study, research or creative work conducted under the supervision of one or more faculty members.

The 32nd oldest college in the country, Allegheny College celebrates its bicentennial in 2015.