U.S. News & World Report’s latest Best Colleges rankings place Elmhurst University at No. 6 among the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest—and No. 1 among Illinois schools in that category.
Elmhurst also ranks No. 7 as a Best Value School and No. 7 on the list of Top Performers for Social Mobility in the 2023-2024 rankings, released on Monday, Sept. 18.
Elmhurst’s rankings reflect major changes that U.S. News & World Report made this year to its rankings formula in an effort to better capture the top reasons why students attend a particular college or university—academic reputation, cost of attending and return on investment.
More than half of an institution’s rank is now made up of outcome measures related to how successfully the college or university enrolls students from all socioeconomic backgrounds and then helps them to graduate with manageable debt and post-graduate success.
“The significant changes in this year’s methodology are part of the ongoing evolution to make sure our rankings capture what is most important for students as they compare colleges and select the school that is right for them,” said Eric Gertler, executive chairman and CEO of U.S. News.
Elmhurst’s No. 7 rankings in the Best Value and Social Mobility categories are particularly meaningful because they speak to how the University seeks to serve its students, said President Troy D. VanAken.
“Our high rankings in U.S. News and other college rankings—not just this year, but year after year— underscore our commitment to providing all of our students with an excellent educational value that will prepare them for success after graduation.”
The Best Value Schools rankings are based on academic quality, the percentage of full-time undergraduates in 2022-23 who received need-based scholarships or grants, and the average discount from the school’s total 2022-2023 sticker price for full-time undergraduates.
The Top Performers for Social Mobility list describes colleges that have been the most successful at advancing students’ social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of economically disadvantaged students. About half of Elmhurst’s undergraduate students are the first in their families to attend college, and 100 percent receive some form of financial aid.
Elmhurst University is ranked in the Best Regional Universities category, which comprises institutions, grouped by geographic region, that provide a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s degree programs, but few doctoral programs. The institutions in each region are ranked against each other because, in general, they tend to draw most of their students from within their own state or surrounding states.
The full U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2023-2024 report can be found at usnews.com/best-colleges.