College and University Blog
US News and World Report College Rankings Released for 2011
Eagerly anticipated since its inception in 1983, the 27th annual US News and World Report Best Colleges rankings were released today.
US News Annual Reports
US News and World Report is a monthly news magazine published in Washington, DC. In June 2008 it switched from a weekly to a biweekly format and in November 2008 it became a monthly publication with greater emphasis placed on its website.
The magazine, which is often compared to competitors Time and Newsweek, places most of its focus on politics, the economy, health and education. It is well-known for its ranking system and annual reports on American colleges, graduate schools, and hospitals and in 2007 also began ranking high schools. Each year US News examines over 1400 accredited schools and publishes their results to serve as a research tool for prospective students and their parents.
Changes to the 2011 Best Colleges Ranking System
The main categories of the 2011 Best Colleges are National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges. Best Colleges enthusiasts may notice that category names were changed this year to reduce confusion and make rankings more understandable.
In previous years, the Regional Universities category was
Melissa Rhone+
Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the University of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.