WFU advances one place in U.S. News and World Report rankings

The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor tied Wake Forest for the 25th spot in the 2003 edition of the guide.

Wake Forest was ranked 26th in last year’s guide.

The annual guide, which announced its new rankings Sept.13, recognized Wake Forest for its small classes, low student/faculty ratio and freshman retention rate. The university also fared well in the alumni giving and financial resources categories.

“We are pleased to be included among the top 25 universities in U.S. News and World Report’s annual guide,” said Martha Allman, director of admissions. “We hope prospective students and their families will visit Wake Forest to understand more fully the excellent education Wake Forest offers.”

U.S. News placed Wake Forest 31st in its listing of “Great Schools at Great Prices.” The list evaluates which colleges and universities offer the best value based on a formula that “relates a school’s academic quality, as indicated by its U.S. News ranking, with the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of financial aid.”

U.S. News also placed Wake Forest’s Calloway School of Business and Accountancy 25th in its ranking of the country’s top undergraduate business programs. The ranking of the best business programs is based on a survey of deans and senior faculty at business schools across the country.

On Sept. 9, Wake Forest announced that accounting students in the Calloway School placed first in the nation for their performance on the 2001 Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam.

Wake Forest offers 34 majors to approximately 3,900 undergraduates. As mentioned in the U.S. News guide, 63 percent of Wake Forest classes have fewer than 20 students. Ninety-three percent of Wake Forest freshmen return for their sophomore year.

The U.S. News rankings will be posted on http://www.usnews.com on Sept. 13. The newsstand book, “America’s Best Colleges,” and the Sept. 23 issue of U.S. News and World Report magazine featuring the rankings will go on sale Sept. 16.