U.S.News & World Report ranks HC among top 10 in Midwest

FOR RELEASE  September 13, 2002                                       Click here for current rankings

Huntington, Ind.— U.S.News & World Report has ranked Huntington College among the top 10 comprehensive colleges in the Midwest. The magazine’s 2003 guide to “America’s Best Colleges” marks the eighth consecutive year that Huntington College has been listed among the best in its class.

To rank schools, U.S.News first organizes colleges and universities by category, and then ranks them within each group. Rankings are based on a wide range of criteria, including academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.

All the U.S.News rankings appeared on the magazine’s web site (www.usnews.com) on Friday, September 13. College-bound students can use the site to search for colleges according to their own interests, fill out interactive worksheets and search for scholarship and financial aid information. Excerpts from the college rankings will be published in the Sept. 23 issue of the weekly news magazine. The full rankings will be published in the annual America’s Best Colleges guidebook, available in libraries and bookstores on Sept. 16.

Huntington College administrators cite the school’s academic reputation as a reason for its guidebook rankings and as a significant factor in its recent enrollment growth. This fall, Huntington welcomed a record 239 freshmen. Overall, the new student enrollment, including transfers and re-admissions is a record 281, an increase over last year’s record of 271.

 “Huntington has an excellent incoming class this fall that continues the tradition of academic quality,” said Jeff Berggren, vice president of enrollment management and marketing. “The new freshmen class has the second-highest average ACT score, SAT score and grade point average on record. We expect to see some exceptional campus leaders emerge from their ranks.”

"The academic reputation of Huntington College continues to be strengthened," said Norris Friesen, interim vice president and dean of the College.  "Huntington College is distinguished by its dedicated faculty who are committed not only to excellent teaching but also to mentoring and challenging students to think Christianly."

It has been a year of accolades for Huntington College. In January, the school was listed among the Great Colleges for the Real World for the second year. The publication is designed for those who want to “get in, get out, and get a job.” That guidebook praised Huntington’s shorter-than-average time to graduation, opportunities for study abroad and available programs for working adults.

To accommodate the growth and academic reputation, Huntington College has built two new residence halls and a 91,000 square foot science facility. Huntington’s new Science Hall, which opened earlier this month for classes, is the largest building on campus and features state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories for natural science, mathematics and computer science. (Photos...)

Huntington College is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 60 academic concentrations. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington College is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in Huntington, Indiana.