News > August 28, 2008

By CeCe Brooks | News editor

Every year US News & World Report publishes a guide to “America’s Best Colleges.” This year the university was ranked 28th out of 262 national universities. This is a two-step jump from last year’s rank of 30.

Rankings are based on a multitude of factors such as graduation, course offerings, cost and retention rates. In the past, the university has ranked as high as 25th in 1996, but has fallen in recent years.

The rankings are based on a number of statistics and other factors US News & World considers important in education. Universities usually submit statistics for the issue and receive composite scores. These scores are then compared to make up the rankings. The university is glad that this rating and continued inclusion on the top 30 will make many prospective students aware of the education the school offers.

“The university does, in fact, deliver a very personalized quality education to students and the ratings reflect that,” Kevin Cox, director of media relations, said.

Although the guide only represents a part of university life, many high school students look to it to find universities they might be interested in visiting.

“Wake Forest is always going to encourage students to go beyond rankings in looking for the school that’s appropriate for them ... (the university) doesn’t think any one ranking is going to give a complete picture to any one person,” Cox said.