Salve Regina ranked among nation’s best colleges in U.S. News survey

Salve Regina has been designated once again among the best colleges and universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report. In its 2022-2023 Best Colleges edition released today, Salve Regina ranked #28 overall in the Regional Universities North category and earned accolades by U.S. News as #45 in Best Value Schools, #109 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, #172 in Undergraduate Nursing and among the best A-Plus Schools for B Students.

“Best Value Schools” are academically high performing schools that also cost considerably less as a result of financial aid, particularly through need-based grants and scholarships that do not need to be paid back. Ranking factors include the percentage of all undergraduates receiving need-based scholarships or grants, the average discount from the university’s total “sticker price,” the ratio of academic quality to cost and the percent of students receiving need-based aid.

As a “Top Performer on Social Mobility,” Salve Regina was assessed to be more successful than other universities in enrolling and graduating students who have been awarded Pell Grants. Students receiving these grants typically come from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually, though most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000.

Salve Regina’s selection as a best in “Undergraduate Nursing” was based on the judgments of deans and senior faculty members at nursing schools and departments at institutions around the country. These deans and faculty rated the academic quality of peer institutions’ BSN programs.

As an “A-plus School for B Students,” Salve Regina’s overall excellence was factored alongside its high freshmen retention rate, the percentage of first-year students who returned for their sophomore year. Institutions selected in this category also had to admit a meaningful proportion of students who didn’t get straight A’s in high school.

Overall, U.S News assessed 1,500 U.S. bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on 17 measures of academic quality in its 2022-2023 survey. Its yearly rankings provide prospective students and their families with helpful data and information on factors such as graduation rates, social mobility and graduate indebtedness.

“For nearly 40 years, the Best Colleges methodology has continuously evolved to reflect changes in the higher education landscape and the interests of prospective students,” said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News. “Guiding that evolution is U.S. News’ mission of providing useful data and information to help with one of life’s biggest decisions.”