HANNAH GREWE
PHOTOGRAPHER
AUDREY HESTER
COPY EDITOR
10/20/2025
Recently, Alma College has been featured in two different leaderboards of nationwide colleges. The first of these is the U.S. News and World Report, where it placed sixth in “Regional Colleges Midwest,” finishing behind other institutions such as Ohio Northern University (in first) and Illinois Wesleyan University (in second). Over eighty colleges were ranked in this category, so sixth place is an impressive achievement.
The U.S. News and World Report examines a variety of measures when ranking institutions. These measures include things such as rates of graduation, first-year retention, performance post-graduation, financial resources for students, and research done by the institution.
Alma College placing in sixth means U.S. News and World Report saw that it performed well in these areas, particularly graduation rates and post-graduation performance, since those measures are weighted the most heavily.
Additionally, Alma College was the highest-placing school from Michigan in its region, with Lake Superior State University (located in Sault Ste. Marie) the next-closest, in 19th place.
Alma was also ranked eighth under “Best Colleges for Veterans,” which looks at participation in programs that help make college more practical and affordable for veterans such as the G.I. Bill or the Yellow Ribbon program. To even achieve a placement in “Best Colleges for Veterans,” the institution must first be in the top half of its regional ranks—which Alma meets by coming in sixth for the Midwest.
The second leaderboard Alma was featured on was the Wall Street Journal’s “Best Colleges” rankings. The United States has nearly 4,000 institutes of higher education, and only 584 were ranked by Wall Street Journal. Only 18 of those schools were schools in Michigan, and Alma was one of those 18, coming in 544th place.
Placing in this list at any point is an achievement, seeing as only about one eighth of the United States’ institutes of higher education were ranked at all.
The Wall Street Journal weighs aspects of student outcomes, learning environment, and diversity when ranking these schools. Student outcomes look at how well students are able to perform in the world after graduation, how quickly they make back the money they spent on their education, and the school’s overall rate of graduation.
Learning environment focuses on factors like opportunities for learning offered by an institution, how well it prepares students for life post-graduation, the condition of its learning facilities, and whether students would recommend their experiences to other potential students. Alma performed particularly well in this area, with a 69/100 in learning opportunities, 72/100 in learning facilities, and 62/100 in preparation for career.
Finally, diversity is concerned with the ethnic diversity of a campus, as well as its ability to include and enroll students with disabilities or students that are receiving Pell Grants.
Alma having been recognized by both of these systems—U.S. News and World Report and Wall Street Journal—is a testament to the quality of the education offered on its campus. Regardless of its small size and its proximity to other, larger institutions, it still succeeds in providing a valuable education to its students that will serve them well after graduating.
The Almanian: News 
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