A top national business magazine has again named St. Cloud State among the nation’s 650 best colleges.
Forbes ranks St. Cloud State 571st among its “America’s Top Colleges.” The most recent federal data documents 3,039 four-year colleges in the U.S.
St. Cloud State and Minnesota State University, Mankato (522) are the lone Minnesota State system schools to make the list.
St. Cloud State and Mankato join Augustana University (438) as the only members of the 16-school Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference to be named top colleges.
The America’s Top Colleges honor means St. Cloud State is . . .
- Among the elite 19 percent of the nation’s colleges and universities
- Among the top 3 percent most affordable of America’s Top Colleges
St. Cloud State is one of just five Minnesota public schools ranked in 2017: University of Minnesota (139), University of Minnesota-Morris (298), University of Minnesota-Duluth (498), Minnesota State University Mankato (522) and St. Cloud State (571).
Forbes rankings
Year |
Ranking |
| 2016 | 563 |
| 2015 | 562 |
| 2014 | 566 |
| 2013 | 504 |
Other rankings of note are National Collegiate Hockey Conference rivals Colorado College (76), University of Denver (137), Miami University (170), University of North Dakota (442), University of Nebraska, Omaha (543) and Western Michigan University (575).
“Favoring output over input, we eschew common metrics like acceptance rate, endowment and freshmen SAT scores – numbers that say far more about a school’s prestige than its actual effectiveness – and instead favor variables like alumni salary, graduation rate and student satisfaction, said Carter Coudriet, deputy editor of the America’s Top Colleges 2017 project.
Forbes’ methodology is rooted in post-graduate success, student debt, student experience, graduation rate and academic success
The ranking draws from data sources such as the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, the Department of Education’s College Scorecard, Payscale and Niche.
An American business website and bi-weekly, Forbes has published since 1917. This is the 10th year Forbes has ranked colleges and universities.
