Santa Clara takes second in university ranking
By Cara Quackenbush
For the twelfth consecutive year, Santa Clara University was ranked No. 2 overall among western master's universities by U.S. News. Published Sept. 6, the annual ranking of the "Best Colleges in the U.S." ranked 573 public and private universities nationwide, giving Santa Clara high marks in several categories.
In a new supplemental ranking, both Santa Clara and Saint Mary's College of California were also ranked third in its listing of "great schools at great prices."
According to Barry Holtzclaw, director of media relations for Santa Clara, this new ranking is important because it implies that Santa Clara is a good value when compared to similarly priced universities.
"Santa Clara's tuition is higher than some similar universities across the country so value is an important word - value is what you get for your money," he said.
The report gave Santa Clara the highest overall score of 94 out of 100 among colleges in the Western region, which included colleges in all states from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and Arizona.
Santa Clara also scored highest in academic reputation among presidents and deans in the west with a score of 4.0 out of a possible 5.0, which is an improvement from last year's rating of 3.9.
Santa Clara's 81 percent graduation rate and percentage of freshman who complete their degree in six years were also highest in the Western region and third in the nation overall.
The school's 92 percent retention rate, the number of freshman who enroll their sophomore year, also ranked highest in the west and second among master's universities nationwide.
Santa Clara's 12-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio was the fourth lowest ratio in the west, and its 27 percent alumni giving rate was fourth highest in the region.
Overall, Holtzclaw believes that the ranking ought to make us all feel better. In addition to enhancing Santa Clara's reputation, he thinks it is especially important because it is one of the things prospective students and their parents use to determine which college to attend.
The report's rankings were based on scores from several categories, including academic reputation, class size, percent of full-time faculty, student-faculty ratios, retention of students, student test scores and grades, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.
Among public and private master's universities in the west, St. Mary's also ranked ninth and San Jose State University tied for 32nd. Loyola Marymount University of Los Angeles tied for the third place slot with Gonzaga University of Spokane, Wash.