Georgia Schools Ranked Among U.S. News’ 2022-2023 Best Colleges

GEORGIA — Fifty-six colleges and universities in Georgia are among higher education institutions included in the 2022-2023 Best Colleges rankings released Monday by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News has been publishing the respected guide for prospective students and families for nearly 40 years. Methodology has changed over the years to reflect changes in higher education, Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News, said in a news release.

U.S. News touts its ranking for providing millions of parents with “useful data and information to help with one of life’s biggest decisions,” Castro said.

U.S. News ranked 1,500 colleges and universities across 17 academic measures. To rank colleges, U.S. News first places each school into a category based on its mission and, in some cases, its geographic location.

National universities, which focus on research and offer several doctoral programs, are ranked separately from liberal arts colleges.

Georgia schools that made the ranking include:

National Universities

1. Emory University, Atlanta, Ga. Ranked 22.
2. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga. Ranked 44.
3. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. Ranked 49.
4. Mercer University, Macon, Ga. Ranked 166.
5. Georgia State University, Atlanta, Ga. Ranked 234.

National Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga. Ranked 51.
2. Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Ga. Ranked 63.
3. Morehouse College, Atlanta, Ga. Ranked 124.
4. Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Ga. Ranked 147.
5. Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Ga. Ranked 156-201.

Top Performers on Social Mobility — National Universities

1. University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Ga. Ranked 53.
2. Tie: Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga and Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Ga. Ranked 69.
3. Brenau University, Gainesville, Ga. Ranked 105.
4. Augusta University, Augusta, Ga. Ranked 140.
5. Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Ga. Ranked 160.

Top Regional Colleges — South

1. Wesleyan College, Macon, Ga. Ranked 3.
2. LaGrange College, LaGrange, Ga. Ranked 8.
3. Toccoa Falls College, Toccoa Falls, Ga. Ranked 24.
4. Reinhardt University, Waleska, Ga. Ranked 36.
5. Emmanuel College, Franklin Springs, Ga. Ranked 41.

Top Regional Universities — South

1. Berry College, Mount Berry, Ga. Ranked 3.
2. Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga. Ranked 9.
3. Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, Ga. Ranked 22.
4. Piedmont University, Demorest, Ga. Ranked 44.
5. University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, Ga. Ranked 46.

Overall, the top three schools in each category are:

National Universities

1. Princeton University (New Jersey)
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Tie: Harvard University (Massachusetts), Stanford University (California) and Yale University (Connecticut)

National Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Williams College (Massachusetts)
2. Amherst College (Massachusetts)
3. Pomona College (California)

National Universities (Public)

1. Tie: University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Los Angeles

3. Tie: University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and University of Virginia

National Liberal Arts Colleges (Public)

1. United States Naval Academy
2. United States Military Academy at West Point
3. United States Air Force Academy

Top Performers on Social Mobility — National Universities

1. Keiser University (Florida)
2. University of California, Riverside
3. California State University – Long Beach

Top Performers on Social Mobility — National Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Salem College (North Carolina)
2. Lake Forest College (Illinois)
3. Tougaloo College (Mississippi)

To compile the rankings, U.S. News focuses on academic quality and places emphasis on outcome measures, including graduation rates, retention rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility. Graduation rates and other outcomes represent 40 percent of each school’s overall score.

U.S. News said it changed how it weights SAT and ACT scores because demand for the college entrance exams plummeted due to the pandemic, especially among students living in low-income households.

Part-time faculty members were considered in measures on faculty resources, reflecting a trend for more part-time instructors, U.S. News said. Previously, only full-time instructors were considered.

Read more about the methodology.