Hope College continues to receive accolades from editors of college guides as the newest editions of a variety of the publications debut in tandem with the advent of the school year nationwide.
Recent guides that list Hope among the select number of institutions they single out for praise include the 2012 "America's Best Colleges" published by "U.S. News & World Report," the 2012 "Fiske Guide to Colleges" and the "America's Top Colleges" guide published in August by "Forbes Magazine."
The annual rankings compiled by "U.S. News & World Report" have once again included Hope College among the 100 best liberal arts colleges in the nation.
The college is 94th out of 280 institutions that are considered national liberal arts colleges in the rankings.
In addition, Hope also continues to be included among the institutions that the publication recognizes for providing outstanding undergraduate research/creative project opportunities.
The rankings were announced on Tuesday, Sept. 13, and are featured on the "U.S. News & World Report" website at https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges.
"U.S. News & World Report" has included Hope among the nation's top 100 liberal arts colleges for the past several years. Hope has been on the listing of approximately 30 institutions outstanding for undergraduate research/creative projects since the "America's Best Colleges" guide initiated the category in 2003 (the institutions are not ranked).
The "U.S. News & World Report" rankings group institutions in four categories: National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges. The overall rankings are based on the publication's measurement of academic quality as indicated through seven categories including peer assessment, retention and graduation of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and graduation rate performance and high school counselor ratings. The listings in the undergraduate research/creative projects and undergraduate-teaching categories are based on nominations from senior college administrators from around the country.
The "Fiske Guide to Colleges," now in its 28th edition, continues to include Hope as one of only about 310 colleges and universities that it highlights as "the best and most interesting institutions in the nation - the ones that students most want to know about." The guide does not rank the institutions it selects, but instead includes statistical information for each--such as enrollment, test-score ranges and graduation rate--and multi-paragraph profiles that discuss qualities such as the academic and social environments.
The "Fiske Guide" profiles are based on questionnaires sent to administrators and students at the institutions selected for conclusion. The 2012 guide notes that "Hope's "academic and athletic programs continue to grow and prosper, helped out by an array of new facilities." One of the students quoted observed that "The academic programs, particularly the research and collaborative opportunities, far surpass those of Hope's rivals," while another commented that students "tend to be very involved in academics, extracurriculars, athletics, and social events."
Hope is one of 650 institutions selected for inclusion in the "America's Top Colleges" guide published by "Forbes Magazine" in August. Hope is 194th in the "Forbes" listing, which uses 12 factors in its rankings, grouped into one of five general categories: how satisfied students are with their college experience; graduates' success in their chosen professions; student debt; student graduation in four years; and students' achievement in obtaining nationally competitive awards such as Goldwater scholarships, National Science Foundation fellowships and Fulbright awards. More information, including the rankings, can be found online at: http://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/