September 3, 2008

Catholic colleges top regional listing in magazine’s annual ranking

WASHINGTON (CNS)—In the 2009 list of the nation’s best colleges, according to U.S. News & World Report’s ranking, Catholic colleges and universities fared as they usually do—at the top of regional lists for the North and Midwest but with only a few Catholic colleges in the overall national rankings. And while many colleges promote their placement in the annual list, some college leaders are rejecting it. Three Catholic colleges that typically make the top 50 list of national colleges did so once again. The University of Notre Dame in Indiana placed 18th; Georgetown University in Washington was 23rd and Boston College ranked 34th. Last year Notre Dame was 19th, Georgetown was again 23rd and Boston ranked 35th. Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., took first place this year as the best national university, ousting Princeton University in New Jersey from that spot for the first time in nine years. Princeton placed second and Yale University in New Haven, Conn., came in third. Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., topped the list of national liberal arts schools.