St. Lawrence Ranked Among Nation’s Best Colleges by U.S. News
St. Lawrence’s reputation among the nation's top liberal arts colleges remains strong according to U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” rankings, released on Sept. 18. The publication also recognized St. Lawrence’s stellar psychology and economics programs.
In the 2024 edition, St. Lawrence ranks 59 among over 200 liberal arts colleges included in the publication, placing the University in the top 30 percent of its peer group. According to the publication, national liberal arts colleges “focus almost exclusively on undergraduate education and award at least 50 percent of their degrees in the arts and sciences.”
Best Value School
U.S. News also included St. Lawrence on its list of “best value” schools, which weighs a college's academic quality alongside the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid.
For the first time ever, U.S. News also published rankings of medium-to-large undergraduate psychology and economics programs. St. Lawrence’s psychology program ranked 203 out of 541 total programs, putting it among the top 40 percent of programs in the nation. St. Lawrence’s economics program also ranked among the nation’s top 300.
“Students with a desire to make an impact, foster community, seek academic challenges, and follow their intellectual curiosity will find a welcoming home at St. Lawrence,” says President Kate Morris. “It’s a particular honor to be noted for the enduring value of our entire liberal arts curriculum, and as a psychology scholar and teacher, it’s gratifying to have our department highlighted for the ways in which our faculty work closely alongside students on research and other real-world learning opportunities.”
More Rankings Recognition
These rankings come on the heels of a slew of recent recognitions for St. Lawrence. In its “Best 389 Colleges” list for 2024, The Princeton Review ranked the University in the following categories:
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No. 7, “Most Active Student Government”
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No. 6, “Best Science Lab Facilities”
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No. 16, “Best-Run Colleges”
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No. 4, “Most Accessible Professors”
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No. 24, “Friendliest Students.”
The publication recognized its “strong sense of community” and “dedication to academics.”
The University was also named yet again to The Princeton Review’s list of the nation’s 209 “Best Value Colleges” for 2023:
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No. 4, “Top 20 Best Private School Alumni Networks”
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No. 19, “Best Schools for Making an Impact”
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No. 10, “Top 20 Best Private Schools for Internships”
In 2022, Money Magazine named St. Lawrence one of the nation’s top 50 best-value liberal arts colleges based on an evaluation of outcomes, affordability, and quality of education. In 2023, St. Lawrence made its list of “Best Colleges in America,” earning a 4.5 rating out of 5 total stars. Money Magazine specifically noted that “St. Lawrence is small but mighty,” highlighting its graduation rate, innovative new majors, and proximity to outdoor adventures.
For its 39th edition, U.S. News evaluated nearly 1,500 colleges and universities on 19 indicators of academic quality. The greatest weight is placed on academic quality and graduate outcomes—specifically enrolling, retaining, and graduating students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds with a manageable amount of debt and post-graduate success. The publication also takes into account campus culture, strength in specific majors of study, student-to-faculty ratio, and financial aid, among other factors important to prospective students and families.
