U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2008" ranks Lynchburg College in the top tier of southern colleges that offer a full range of undergraduate programs and master's degrees in the "Best Universities - Master's" category.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the College has achieved this distinction. The 574 institutions in this category are ranked within four geographic areas: North, South, Midwest, and West. Of the 60 schools in the southern category, only nine are Virginia schools.
Lynchburg College fared particularly well in freshman retention, graduation rate, student-faculty ratio, number of freshmen in top 25 percent of their high school graduating class, and admissions acceptance rate. The rankings can be viewed at http://www.usnews.com.
Lynchburg College is also one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review's 2008 edition, The Best 366 Colleges. Only about 15 percent of the four-year colleges in America and two Canadian colleges were chosen for the book. LC is one of the 146 colleges named a "Best Southeastern College" by The Princeton Review.
In the 2008 edition, students praise Lynchburg College for its "beautiful campus," "small, personable environment," "close-knit community," and "well-balanced liberal arts education."
Of academics, students said, "Classes at LC are challenging and interesting" and professors helpful. LC's rating for interesting and accessible professors was 87 each, and the overall quality of life rating was also 87, all up considerably from the 2007 edition. Students described themselves as wanting to have fun, but also wanting to succeed in school.
Robert Franek, Princeton Review's vice president of publishing, said, "In our opinion, each school in this book is a 'best' when it comes to academics. But as anyone visiting colleges can attest, their campus cultures and offerings differ greatly. We compile rankings in multiple categories to give college applicants and their parents - particularly those who can't visit these schools - a wide range of information to decide which of these academically outstanding colleges will be best for them. It's all about the fit."
The ranking lists in the 2008 edition of Best 366 Colleges are based on The Princeton Review's survey of 120,000 students (about 325 per campus on average) attending the 366 colleges in the book.
The Princeton Review is a New York-based company known for its test preparation, education, and college admission services. It is not affiliated with Princeton University and does not publish a magazine. For more information, check http://www.PrincetonReview.com.