Holy Cross, WPI, Clark drop in annual college rankings

Photo | Grant Welker College of the Holy Cross in Worcester

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The U.S. News & World Report's annual college rankings, which are closely watched in the industry and among prospective students and their families, were less kind this year to Worcester colleges.

College of the Holy Cross, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Clark University — the three most prominent in national rankings locally — all saw drops from last year in the new rankings released Monday.

Holy Cross fell to 36th among liberal arts schools from 27th last year. WPI dropped slightly from 62th among national universities, the broadest category, to 66th. Clark dropped to 103rd, from 91st last year and 66th two years ago.

The rankings consider a range of factors including standardized test scores of admitted students, student-faculty ratios, graduation rates, tuition and financial aid, and post-graduation employment.

Other Central Massachusetts schools were included in a separate ranking of schools in the north. On that list, Dean College in Franklin was 34th, Assumption University in Worcester was 43rd, Becker College in Worcester was ranked in a range from 41st to 53rd, Fitchburg State University was 96th, Framingham State University was 105th, and Anna Maria College in Paxton was in a range of 136th to 176th.

Among other college rankings announced in the past week, Holy Cross was ranked 11th for "best bang for the buck" among schools in the Northeast by Washington Monthly, based on average net cost of attendance, career earnings for graduates and other factors. The American Moot Court Association, whose tournament brings top students from more than 200 colleges and universities across the nation, has ranked Fitchburg State’s program 14th in the country based on scores in the competition.