From UMW:
The University of Mary Washington topped the list of America’s 50 Most Underrated Colleges. Released this week by Great Value Colleges (GVC), the list pinpoints schools that stand out among vast offerings in higher education, but whose size and other factors can preclude them from rising to the top of big-name national rankings.
“None of the colleges on [our] list are Ivy League institutions, but they all are able to say that they’re outperforming Ivy League colleges in some areas,” GVC said. “Every single college on this list has managed to achieve something remarkable.”
UMW ranked higher in the survey than such schools as Virginia Tech, Elon, Rutgers, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of California San Francisco, Florida Institute of Technology and George Washington University.
GVC paired standard measures of each school’s success – graduation and graduate employment rates, professors’ credentials, financial aid opportunities – with its performance in unique areas that make it shine.
UMW offers faculty who are “some of the brightest in the country,” GVC said, with more than 80 percent holding terminal degrees in their field and eight having won Fulbright Awards to teach and research abroad. GVC also points to Mary Washington’s more than $41 million in annual financial assistance to students.
“There’s a proliferation of educational opportunities today,” GVC Editor Julie McCaulley told Cision PR Newswire. “With today’s emphasis on brand recognition, it’s easy for high-quality colleges to get ‘lost in the shuffle.’ We wanted to shine a well-deserved spotlight on some of the institutions that are providing excellence in academics and unique opportunities to their students.”
UMW also landed this week in the No. 2 spot on Affordable Schools’ list of Virginia’s best 20 schools for bachelor’s degrees. That roster recognized Mary Washington as a top-value choice, citing its proximity to Washington, D.C., unique degree programs and features such as the Hurley Convergence Center and UMW Galleries’ 5,000-piece art collection. Affordable Schools placed UMW in its list of Virginia’s top five best schools for post-graduation outcomes, as well. The rankings considered graduates’ early- and mid-career salaries, and total return on investment.
UMW also has already earned spots in top 2020 publications, including Fiske Guide to Colleges, U.S. News & World Reportand The Princeton Review.
