Newsweek College Rankings

In spring 2007, an organization of liberal-arts colleges, the Annapolis Group, stated some member schools would stop participating in the part of the U.S. News & World Report‘s annual survey where college administrators assess peer schools using a numerical system. The move was a reaction to a controversy about the usefulness of numerical listings that list institutions by how they fare on a range of statistical measures. Critics have stated that these measures don’t provide a full picture of a school. In response to this critique, Newsweek decided to eschew numerical rankings in 2007 for a “quick but colorful snapshot of today’s most interesting schools.” They talked to admissions officials, educational consultants, students, parents, and college and university leaders to make a choice of selections. High-school counselors, in particular, were the most influential people in the final count, as – according to Newsweek - those individuals are most in tune with what matters to college applicants.

25 Hottest Schools 2007

Methodology: The names of colleges in this list are hidden in the subheads, as Newsweek preferred to categorize the list by “hottest” sports, men’s, women’s, liberal, small state colleges and more. Each categorized heading covers only one college, however. For instance, the “Hottest Music School” is Eastman, located in Rochester, New York and the “Hottest for International Studies” is Babson College, located in Babson Park, Massachusetts.

25 Hottest Schools 2008

Methodology: Although Newsweek had something to hang its hat on for subjective criteria in 2007, truth be told that Newsweek always based their college rankings on subjective data. This year is no different, and they ranked the colleges as they had in 2007 (see above). A few examples in “Hottest Liberal-Arts School You Never Heard Of,” which was Centenary College of Louisiana, located in Shreveport, Louisiana; “Hottest Big-City School,” Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.; and, “Hottest for International Studies,” which was the University of Richmond, located in Richmond, Virginia.

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.
Click here to see more colleges...