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UNC ranks 30th in News and World report

Despite a recent drop in a prominent college ranking report, University officials said they remain confident in UNC’s status as one of the nation’s top schools.

In its annual ranking of national universities released Aug. 17, U.S. News & World Report listed UNC as the 30th best school in the country ­— a drop of two spots from last year. UNC had previously tied two private schools, Tufts University and Wake Forest University, at 28th.

But for the 10th consecutive year, UNC maintained the ranking that officials said they value the most: a top-five ranking among public universities.

“Overall this is very reassuring,” said Executive Associate Provost Ron Strauss. “There is no cause for concern, but actually a cause for pride, since we stand at the top of the nation’s public universities.”

Overall, the University of California–Berkeley ranked 22nd, the University of California—Los Angeles, Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia tied at 25th and the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor ranked 29th.

All five public schools in the top 30 spots went down in the overall ranking, though their numerical scores were identical to last year’s.UNC’s score remained at 70 on a scale of 100.

“That illustrates precisely why I again would caution you not read too much into these results,” Chancellor Holden Thorp wrote Monday in an e-mail to the Board of Trustees. Thorp added that the rankings are largely arbitrary, noting how the same 30 schools have traded spots for the past six years.

Strauss said he wouldn’t mind seeing a higher score in the future, but that some of the categories of consideration naturally favor private schools, such as alumni donations and admissions selectivity.

Schools are ranked in the report by categories ranging from graduation rates and freshman retention to the rate of alumni giving.
For the first time, the magazine used the ratings of high school guidance counselors to judge schools. Among public schools, UNC tied for second with Georgia Institute of Technology and 22nd overall.

Stephen Farmer, the associate provost and director of undergraduate admissions, said he didn’t think the drop would affect prospective applicants’ interest in UNC.

“People certainly pay attention to ratings, but they don’t make decisions for anyone,” he said. Miranda Wodarski, a freshman from Cary, said she strongly considered the ranks of the schools she applied to, but only as a small piece in a larger puzzle.

“Two spots in the whole nation is not a big factor,” she said. “If it were 20 spots, that would be weird.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.

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