Forbes College Rankings

2008 marked the first year that Forbes entered the college ranking fray. They choose to use a methodology that included the following percentages: Listing of Alumni in the 2008 Who’s Who in America (25 percent); student evaluations of professors from Ratemyprofessors.com (25 percent); four-year graduation rates (16 2/3 percent); enrollment-adjusted numbers of students and faculty receiving nationally competitive awards (16 2/3 percent); average four year accumulated student debt of those borrowing money (16 2/3 percent). They did not break colleges down into different schools as U.S. News does, but instead choose to separate private and public colleges instead.

Complete College Rankings

Methodology: In conjunction with Dr. Richard Vedder, an economist at Ohio University, and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), Forbes inaugurated its first ranking of America’s Best Colleges in 2008. They based 25 percent of their rankings on seven million student evaluations of courses and instructors, as recorded on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com. Another 25 percent depended upon how many of the school’s alumni, adjusted for enrollment, are listed among the notable people in Who’s Who in America. The other half of the ranking was based equally on three factors: the average amount of student debt at graduation held by those who borrowed; the percentage of students graduating in four years; and the number of students or faculty, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards like Rhodes Scholarships or Nobel Prizes. CCAP ranked only the top 15 percent or so of all undergraduate institutions.

Top Private Colleges

This is a digital slide show of the top twenty-five private colleges compiled from the complete college rankings listed above. Each college slide reveals its overall rank, cost, class size, student to faculty ratio, SAT and ACT ranges, percentage of applicants admitted, application deadline and early admission dates. Cost includes tuition, room and board, books, fees and other expenses.

Top Public Colleges

This is a digital slide show of the top twenty-five public colleges compiled from the complete college rankings listed above. Each college slide reveals its overall rank, cost, class size, student to faculty ratio, SAT and ACT ranges, percentage of applicants admitted, application deadline and early admission dates. Cost includes tuition, room and board, books, fees and other expenses.

America’s 50 Best Colleges

This link takes you to a digital slide show of the top fifty colleges compiled from the complete college rankings listed above. Each college slide reveals its cost, class size, student to faculty ratio, SAT and ACT ranges, percentage of applicants admitted, application deadline and early admission dates. Cost includes tuition, room and board, books, fees and other expenses.

Top Online Colleges in the US

Graduate Rankings are extremely important to consider when evaluating potential colleges. Degrees from highly ranked colleges are more respected by potential employers, and can result in better job offers. Below, we've come up with a list of the top online schools.

Associate's Degrees Bachelor's Degrees Master's Degrees	Kaplan University — Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's Degrees. With both campus- and online-based programs, Kaplan University offers a quick path to your degree, making it the perfect continuing education school for working adults looking to improve their careers.
Associate's Degrees Bachelor's Degrees Master's Degrees	Ashford University — Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's Degrees. Founded in 1918, Ashford University is affordable and convenient, as you can balance your current job with online coursework and finish your degree in as few as 12 months.
Associate's Degrees Bachelor's Degrees Master's Degrees Doctoral Degrees	University of Phoenix — Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral Degrees. The world-class courses and faculty at the University of Phoenix are focused on helping you balance your education goals with your current personal or professional commitments.
ABA in Business ABA in Health Administration ACJ in Law Enforcement	Ivy Bridge College — Associate's Degrees. Ivy Bridge College offers online associate's degree programs in accounting, business, computer technology, healthcare administration, criminal justice and general studies. The programs provide the flexibility and convenience of online learning while offering unparalleled mentoring and student support. For students interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree, Ivy Bridge provides streamlined admission to some of the best four-year colleges in the U.S.
Bachelor's Degrees Master's Degrees Doctoral Degrees	Walden University — Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral Degrees. Walden University is geared toward educating working professionals in an online class delivery format that is designed to be both flexible and affordable. This schools offers one of the world's largest collection of master and doctorate degrees online.
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