Innovate+Educate Blog

Four New Mexico schools on Forbes 2010 ‘America’s Best Colleges’ list

August 20, 2010

St. John’s College and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology rank highest among four New Mexico schools listed in Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the nation’s 610 best colleges.

The annual ranking compiled by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity rates 610 undergraduate programs out of 6,600 accredited U.S. colleges based on the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students, and how much they achieve.

“Appearing on our list at all is an indication that a school meets a high standard,” the magazine released in a statement.

St. John’s College in Santa Fe ranks 217th, with a student population of 511 and a cost $50,513. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro ranked 334th, with a student population of 1,767 and a cost of $22,424.

New Mexico State University (354th) and the University of New Mexico (422nd) were the other two New Mexico schools in the ranking. NMSU has a student population of 17,239 and a cost of $26,924. UNM’s student population is listed at 25,754 with a cost of $27,138.

Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., took the top spot, replacing last year’s top pick, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., which fell to No. 4.
Also in the top 10:

  * No. 2: Princeton University.
  * No. 3: Amherst College.
  * No. 4. United States Military Academy.
  * No. 5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  * No. 6. Stanford University.
  * No. 7. Swarthmore College.
  * No. 8. Harvard University.
  * No. 9. Claremont McKenna College.
  * No. 10. Yale University.

Twenty-five percent of the Forbes ranking is based on student evaluations of courses and instructors as recorded on the website RateMyProfessors.com. Another 25 percent is based on post-graduate success, based on listings in Who’s Who in America as well as average graduate salaries as reported by Payscale.com. And 20 percent is based on how low the average student debt is after four years, which is one reason why the nation’s tuition-free service academies tend to rank high.

In a separate ranking of America’s 100 “best college buys,” those on Forbes best-colleges list that have low tuition and fees, none of the four New Mexico schools made the list.