U.S. News & World Report Again Names Cottey One of the Top Colleges in the Midwest

Today, U.S. News & World Report announced that Cottey College is nationally ranked #9 among its 2019 Best Regional Colleges placing it in the top ten of regional Midwest colleges. In total, 79 colleges were ranked from 12 states comprising the Midwest region. The rankings are available online at www.usnews.com/colleges.

Cottey was again ranked in three additional categories in the Midwest region from U.S. News & World Report. Cottey is ranked #1 among Best Value Schools, moving up from #2 last year, and is ranked #3 in both Lowest Student Debt Load at Graduation and Schools with Largest Proportion of International Students.

Rankings by respected organizations such as U.S. News & World Report can provide college-bound students and their parents valuable information to compare merits of different education programs. U.S. News & World Report uses 50 different types of numerical rankings and lists to help students narrow their college search, according to their website.

Colleges ranked in the Best Regional College category focus almost entirely on the undergraduate experience and offer a broad range of programs in the liberal arts in fields such as business, nursing and education.

Colleges ranked in the Best Value College category take into account a college’s academic quality based on its U.S. News Best Colleges ranking and the 2017-18 net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid.

The Lowest Student Debt Load at Graduation ranking indicates that 73% of Cottey baccalaureate graduates had no debt at graduation while the average amount of debt for the remaining graduates was $23,533. According to Student Loan Hero, this is almost $16,000 less than the average debt of $39,400.

Finally, Cottey’s proportion of international students (15%) earned the college a #3 ranking as College with the Largest Proportion of International Students.

“We are again pleased to receive these rankings from such a trusted organization as U.S. News & World Report. We find it especially noteworthy that Cottey is a top ten school in the Midwest for the second consecutive year,” said Dr. Jann Weitzel, president of Cottey College.

“Rankings fulfill a demand prospective students and their families have for information about institutional quality. Statistics reflecting high retention and graduation rates, small class sizes, a low student/faculty ratio, and the percentage of full-time faculty are tangible measurements of the effort an institution puts into helping students succeed. These are critical markers in the decision process for a student and her family in choosing a college that will be a good fit,” added Dr. Weitzel. “In addition, the rankings help with name recognition. There are people who will see these rankings who might not have heard of Cottey otherwise.”

Cottey is one of four schools in Missouri to be ranked as a Best Regional College and the only women’s college included in the Midwest rankings.

Among the criteria on which U.S. News & World Report bases its rankings are the following: retention, assessment by peers and counselors, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving rate.

“While rankings are helpful to prospective students and parents, the best way to make that final decision is to visit campus and see if that college or university is the right fit. We hope these rankings will encourage more young women to visit Cottey and see for themselves what we have to offer as they make their post-secondary educational choices,” said Dr. Weitzel.