Forbes ranks SCSU among elite schools

A top national business magazine has named St. Cloud State among the nation’s 650 best colleges.

Forbes ranks St. Cloud State 554th among its “America’s Top Colleges.” The most recent federal data documents 3,011 four-year colleges in the U.S.

The America’s Top Colleges honor means St. Cloud State is . . .

• Among the elite 18 percent of the nation’s colleges and universities
• Among the top 3 percent most affordable of America’s Top Colleges

St. Cloud State and Minnesota State University, Mankato (532) 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.

St. Cloud State is one of just five Minnesota public schools ranked in 2018: University of Minnesota (106), University of Minnesota-Morris (339), University of Minnesota-Duluth (472), Minnesota State University Mankato (532) and St. Cloud State (554).

Other rankings of note are National Collegiate Hockey Conference rivals Colorado College (84), University of Denver (155), Miami University (159), University of North Dakota (444), University of Nebraska, Omaha (514) and Western Michigan University (577).

The Forbes ranking is output-focused, because that’s what students care about, according to deputy editors Susan Adams and Carter Coudriet.

“Where will a college steer them in their life after graduation? How likely are they to find success in their chosen field, to earn enough money to pay their student debt, to win accolades like Pulitzer Prizes and Fulbright scholarships, to become leaders in private and public life?” Adams and Coudriet write in the project introduction. 

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.

Forbes does not include for-profit schools, such as University of Phoenix and Capella University.

An American business website and bi-weekly, Forbes has published since 1917. This is the 11th year Forbes has ranked colleges and universities.