Where Do Women’s Colleges Stand in the New U.S. News Rankings?

The magazine U.S. News and World Report recently issued its annual rankings of the best colleges and universities in the United States. Among the nation’s highest-ranked liberal arts colleges, Williams College and Amherst College in Massachusetts were in the top two spots.

Some women’s colleges made impressive gains in their rankings. In fact of the six women’s colleges ranked in the top 50 of all national liberal arts colleges, five have shown an improvement over their rankings in 2013.

• Wellesley College, the liberal arts educational institution for women in suburban Boston, ranked third among all liberal colleges this year. This is up from the seventh position three years ago.
• Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts was tied for 12th place in this year’s rankings. This is up from 20th place three years ago.
• Scripps College in Claremont, California, was the only other women’s college in the top 25. It ranked in 23rd place. It was ranked 25th in 2013.
• Barnard College in New York City is 27th in this year’s rankings. Three years ago, it placed 32nd.
• Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is ranked in 36th place this year. This is up two positions from the 2013 rankings.
• Bryn Mawr College slipped from 30th place three years ago to 31st this year.