College Choice Releases First Annual Ranking of Regional Universities in the Western United States
Unique regional rankings based exclusively on what nationwide survey of college freshmen said was most important to their college decision
RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Independent college search and rankings website College Choice (http://www.collegechoice.net) has published its first annual ranking of regional universities in the Western United States. These are Western universities that offer a full range of undergraduate programs, and some master's programs, but relatively few doctoral programs. The ranking can be viewed at http://www.collegechoice.net/rankings/regional-universities-west/
According to Katie Amondson, lead editor for the ranking, the Western United States has an abundance of great schools at an affordable price. "When considering projected income, financial aid packages, and quality of education, the schools in this ranking offer students an exceptional return on their educational investment," Amondson said.
The College Choice Regional University Rankings are based exclusively on factors actual college students said were most important to their college decision. According to the most recent annual CIRP Freshmen Survey by the Higher Education Research Institute, these factors include academic reputation, financial aid offerings, overall cost, and success of graduates in the post-college job market.
"As with our rankings of national liberal arts college and national research universities, when ranking regional universities it made sense to us to consider which factors the largest survey of actual college freshmen said was most important to them when they chose their school," said Jeremy Alder, Managing Editor of College Choice. "Every college ranking involves decisions about what elements of a college to consider. You can't measure or include everything, so why not go with what real students said they valued most in making their own college decision?"
Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA tops the list, followed by Trinity University in San Antonio, TX and Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA.
Other universities making the list include (alphabetically ordered):
Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX
California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA
California Polytechnic State University--San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA
California State Polytechnic University--Pomona, Pomona, CA
California State University--Chico, Chico, CA
California State University--Fresno, Fresno, CA
California State University--Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
California State University--Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
California State University--Northridge, Northridge, CA
California State University--Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
California State University--San Bernardino, San Bernardino, CA
California State University--Stanislaus, Stanislaus, CA
Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
Chapman University, Orange, CA
Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA
Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
George Fox University, Newberg, OR
Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, TX
Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
LeTourneau University, Longview, TX
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Mills College, Oakland, CA
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma City, OK
Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA
Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR
Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA
Regis University, Denver, CO
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA
Seattle University, Seattle, WA
Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA
St. Mary's College of California, Moraga, CA
St. Mary's University of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Trinity University, San Antonio, TX
University of Alaska--Anchorage, Anchorage, AK
University of Colorado--Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO
University of Portland, Portland, OR
University of Redlands, Redlands, CA
University of Texas--Pan American, Edinburg, TX
University of Texas--Tyler, Tyler, TX
Walla Walla University, College Place, WA
Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT
Whitworth University, Spokane, WA
Woodbury University, Burbank, CA
The ranking takes into account academic reputation, average amount of scholarship and grant aid per student, overall net cost, and the average starting salary for graduates. Each factor was weighted equally. Data was derived from several publicly available sources, including the National Center for Education Statistics, Payscale.com, and U.S. News & World Report.
College Choice is an independent online publication dedicated to helping students and their families find the right college. The site publishes rankings and reviews that make finding the best colleges for different interests easier and more fun, as well as resources to help students get into, pay for, and thrive at the college of their choice.
Contact:
Jeremy Alder
Managing Editor, College Choice
http://collegechoice.net
(919) 745-8594
Email
SOURCE CollegeChoice.net
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