W&M’s undergraduate teaching lauded by U.S. News
Undergrad teaching: The university is ranked fourth with Princeton among top schools for undergraduate teaching in U.S. News’ 2021 ranking of the nation’s best colleges. In that same report, W&M has the highest average alumni giving rate of any public university at 28%, ranking 18th among all national institutions. Image by Rob Turner
Average alumni giving rate higher than any public university
William & Mary offers some of the most exceptional undergraduate teaching in the country and boasts a higher alumni giving rate than any other public university, according to a report released today by U.S. News and World Report.
The university is ranked fourth with Princeton among top schools for undergraduate teaching in U.S. News’ 2021 ranking of the nation’s best colleges. In that same report, W&M has the highest average alumni giving rate of any public university at 28%, ranking 18th among all national institutions.
Overall, W&M is tied at 39th among national universities in the rankings and tied at 11th among public institutions, moving up a place in each category from last year.
But U.S. News isn’t the only organization to recognize William & Mary in recent rankings.
In July, W&M was the highest-ranked Virginia public university on a CNBC list of 50 U.S. Colleges that Pay Off the Most, whose graduates get “the highest salaries for their tuition dollars.” The university ranked ninth overall among public institutions on the list.
W&M also earned top marks in several categories in Princeton Review’s “The Best 386 Colleges: 2021 Edition,” including Happiest Students (fourth), Lots of Race/Class Interaction (third), Most Engaged in Community Service (seventh) Best College Library (eighth), Most Popular Study Abroad Program (eighth) and Best Science Lab Facilities (10th). W&M also appeared in the rankings for Their Students Love These Colleges (14th), Best Career Services (14th), Best Quality of Life (15th) and LGBTQ-Friendly (18th).
In addition, Money Magazine recently recognized W&M in its latest ranking of best colleges, placing the university 20th on its list of top public schools and 31st overall.
In U.S. News & World Report, W&M is also highlighted on its rankings of best colleges for veterans (18th tied), first-year experience programs (27th tied), undergraduate research (44th tied) and undergraduate business programs (53rd tied). In addition, W&M is included on a list of national universities whose students have the least amount of debt at graduation and on a new ranking for undergraduate computer science programs (68th tied).
Princeton University took the top spot among national universities in U.S. News’ rankings this year, and the University of California, Los Angeles ranked number one among public schools on that list.
U.S. News took several factors into account for its overall rankings, including graduation and retention rates (22%), social mobility (5%), graduation rate performance (8%), undergraduate academic reputation (20%), faculty resources (20%), student selectivity (7%), financial resources per student (10%), average alumni giving rate (3%) and graduate indebtedness (5%), which is new this year. To make room for that new measure, which includes graduate indebtedness total and graduate indebtedness proportion with debt, U.S. News gave less weight to SAT/ACT scores, high school class standing and alumni giving rate this year.