BYU received its highest overall ranking ever in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey of America's Best Colleges, with the Marriott School of Management ranked among the top 50 in "Best Business Programs," coming in at 36th.
The Sept. 1 issue of U.S. News & World Report, which is now on newsstands, ranks about 1,400 four-year accredited colleges and universities by mission and region. BYU falls into the category of "national universities," which includes schools that offer a full range of undergraduate majors – plus master's and doctoral degrees. There are 248 universities in this category, which has been traditionally divided into four tiers.
This year, however, U.S. News dropped its second tier, ranking not only the top 50 but also the top 125. (In the past, schools in the second, third and fourth tiers have not been ranked but listed alphabetically, In the new ranking system, tiers three and four are still listed alphabetically.)
BYU is ranked 67th, as well as being ranked 16th on the Best Value List.
For the past several years, BYU has been ranked in the second tier. Through an arrangement with U.S. News, however, BYU has been able to obtain its actual ranking. Last year, the university was ranked 82nd.
BYU's high scores in the areas of freshman retention rate and graduation rate and its improved score in "classes under 20 students" contributed to the university's overall ranking.
Harvard and Princeton tied for first, followed by Yale and MIT.
