APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – As college-bound seniors seek out the top schools within their states, WalletHub is working to help them make a decision.
The new “2020’s Best College & University Rankings” compared universities and colleges on 33 key measures grouped into seven different categories. The top-ranked school in Wisconsin was the Milwaukee School of Engineering, followed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But in third place was the gem of Appleton’s Lawrence University.
When looking at the ranking of schools within the categories, Dean of Admissions Anselment says “they’re all a big deal. Every one of them is an indication of what you’re doing at the institution.”
Anselment adds that for potential students, “it’s probably nice for them to know that if they’re considering a college and they see that the college they’re applying to is popping up on yet another ranking and showing some strength. It maybe reassures them that they’re making a good decision about how they’re investing their limited application energy.”
In a breakdown of the rankings by category, Lawrence made a handful of top-three appearances. WalletHub ranks them first in the state for student-faculty ratio, which is something Anselment says they take a lot of pride in, as they focus on one-on-one learning and the ability to know and help individual students.
“The one we really like to hang our hat on is the student-faculty ratio. To extrapolate that, across the country Lawrence is going to have one of the lowest student-faculty ratios, and that’s by design. We have about eight students for every faculty member here.”
The university was also ranked third for admission rate, but that’s a statistic Anselment says is not always clear.
“Quite often people equate admission rate with institutional quality, but I think that’s missing a bigger picture. I think the more important thing is what happens to students once they get there.”
Students who do attend Lawrence seem to have a pretty good chance of success during and after their time there. WalletHub also ranks the school third for graduation rate and ninth in the state for post-attendance median salary.
While Anselment does appreciate the praise and publicity, at the end of the day he says building a rapport is the key with any university.
“Rankings like this are all well and good for people who make their money on rankings. I think the best way for a student to find out if a school is a good fit for them is really to engage that school. The more you can get to know that college on a personal basis yourself, that’s going to mean so much more.”
