In higher education, whether the topic is advanced degrees, graduation rates, or good deals, the University of Mary Washington is bound to be part of the conversation. UMW is ranked in every major selective guide publication, including the most recent editions of:
- Fiske Guide to Colleges’ list of best-buy public schools. Twenty-one schools made the cut, based on academics, quality of campus life, and cost for a typical student. Of those, 18 are in the U.S., and only one – UMW – is in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, D.C.
- The Princeton Review’s The Best 377 Colleges, based on the largest and longest-running college student survey, and its The Best Value Colleges, which includes 150 schools and considers undergraduate academics, costs, and financial aid.
- U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges. UMW is sixth on the publication’s list of top public regional universities in the South, which weighs data about each school in 16 areas related to academic excellence, and 16th on its list of all Southern universities in the same category.
- Washington Monthly magazine’s College Guide and Rankings, which considers schools’ contributions to the national public good, including social mobility, research, and service. It ranks the University of Mary Washington 12th among the nation’s schools that offer master’s degrees.
- Kiplinger’s list of 100 best values in public colleges, which measures schools’ sticker prices, financial aid offerings, and ability to keep students on track for graduation. It ranks UMW fifth in Virginia and 44th in the nation. UMW also makes Kiplinger’s list of the country’s 10 public colleges with the highest four-year graduation rates. Institutions on the latter list, which places UMW ninth, exceed the 29.9-percent national average by 38 to 55 percentage points.
- Forbes magazine’s “America’s Top Colleges” list, which focuses on teaching quality, career prospects, graduation rates, and low student debt. It places UMW at 243 out of 650. Its “Top 100 Best Buy Colleges” list ranks Mary Washington 66th.