Allegheny Soars into U.S. Top 25 in Washington Monthly’s Best-College Rankings

Aug. 26, 2013 – In yet another example of its surging national prominence, Allegheny College jumped 17 spots to number 24 in the Best Liberal Arts Colleges category of the 2013 Washington Monthly college rankings, released today. Allegheny joins in the Top 25 perennially elite national liberal-arts colleges such as Bryn Mawr, Carleton, Swarthmore, Bates, Haverford, Macalester, Oberlin, Williams, Amherst and Davidson.

Washington Monthly’s rankings are unique in that they recognize not only what colleges do for their students but what colleges are doing for the country.

“We’re very pleased that these rankings reflect our students’ work and passion and commitment,” said James H. Mullen Jr., president of Allegheny College. “Our students not only practice an ethic of service here in Meadville, but they learn to be engaged and informed citizens of the nation and the world. They learn from the example of our alumni that success in one’s career is gratifying and important but it’s also important to give back and to make a difference.”

The elite ranking is the latest in a string of such mentions for Allegheny.

• Newsweek/Daily Beast listed Allegheny 20th “most rigorous” nationally, ranked between Duke and Harvard.
• Allegheny ranks 23rd nationally in Peace Corps placement among small colleges.
• Hillel’s Foundation for Jewish Campus Life has named Allegheny as one of 20 “small and mighty campuses of excellence” in its newly updated college guide.
• Allegheny is also among the 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s “Colleges That Change Lives.”
• 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.

The Washington Monthly rankings rate 255 of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation based on three broad categories: Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs) and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country). The rankings also factor in an analysis of which schools combine higher than expected graduation rates with affordable prices.

In the service category, Allegheny ranked No. 9 in the nation, according to Washington Monthly.

In a recent survey conducted by the National Assessment of Service and Community Engagement, Allegheny scored higher than the national average in all nine service areas that the survey reviewed: areas related to youth, health, civic participation, the environment, homelessness, hunger, elder care, and religious and economic concerns.

Eighty-one percent of the Allegheny College students surveyed reported participating in some type of service while in college. Allegheny also earned one of the highest institutional scores in results that combined service with frequency and depth of service.

Allegheny has created numerous opportunities to encourage engaged, responsible citizenship – on campus and off – through its interdisciplinary academic minor in Values, Ethics and Social Action.

In addition, innovative institutional programs including the Center for Political Participation and the Allegheny College Center for Experiential Learning provide students with opportunities to perform community service while gaining practical experience for future careers.

The 32nd oldest college in the nation, Allegheny College will celebrate its bicentennial in 2015.