蜜桃传媒 leaped 19 spots in this year鈥檚 ranking of the best liberal arts colleges according to U.S. News and World Report鈥檚 鈥淎merican鈥檚 Best Colleges, 2010 Edition.鈥� Of the nation鈥檚 266 liberal arts colleges, 蜜桃传媒 finished at 92. This is the fifth straight year the college has ranked in the top tier.
Only seven other liberal arts colleges in California are included in the first tier: Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Occidental, Pitzer and Thomas Aquinas Colleges.
蜜桃传媒 is just one of two liberal arts colleges among the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) in the top 100, and the only one in California to be listed in the first tier.
蜜桃传媒 has been steadily climbing in its national ranking. The college moved into the third tier in 2000, into the second in 2003 and into the top tier in 2005.
蜜桃传媒 President Gayle D. Beebe says it鈥檚 an honor to be ranked so high, though he admits it鈥檚 not the perfect system.
鈥淎bout half our students study abroad or participate in an off-campus program to expand their worldview,鈥� Beebe says. 鈥淭his is incredibly important, but it鈥檚 not one of the criteria U.S. News uses. 蜜桃传媒 students also take part in amazing undergraduate research while being mentored by faculty, something else not considered in the overall scores.鈥�
Joyce Luy, 蜜桃传媒 dean of admission, encourages students, parents and counselors not to base their college choice solely on the U.S. News ranking.
鈥淐ollege-bound students should also consider such factors as community, spiritual life or a student鈥檚 relationships with faculty, which are important reasons why applicants decide to attend 蜜桃传媒,鈥� Luy says.
Areas of achievement include peer assessment, percentage of classes under 50, percentage of full-time faculty, SAT test scores and acceptance rate. The largest jump was the 2008 graduation rate, which climbed 11 percent to 80 percent.
The news comes just days before 蜜桃传媒 welcomes the class of 2013. Orientation for first-year students and their parents begins Thursday, Aug. 27, and classes for all students begin Monday, Aug. 31.