2023

Muhlenberg Makes Outcomes-Based “Wall Street Journal” 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S. List

The College is #112 on a list of the nation’s top 400 public and private institutions. The goal of these rankings, per the WSJ, is to help students “identify which colleges will do the most to help them graduate and make more money.”

By: Meghan Kita  Tuesday, September 12, 2023 02:18 PM

Photo by Kristi Morris

This year, The Wall Street Journal revamped its college rankings system to focus on outcomes, and Muhlenberg College was ranked #112 on a list of 400 top schools in the nation by these metrics. The College was also ranked #109 out of the top 400 for salary impact based on student outcomes.

Unlike other rankings systems, which sort schools into categories and rank them against only their peers, the Wall Street Journal list includes four-year institutions of all sizes, both public and private, from small liberal arts colleges to R1 research institutions. Muhlenberg was also the 12th highest ranked college or university in Pennsylvania and one of only two Lehigh Valley institutions to make the list.

In explaining the new rankings methodology, the Journal wrote:

We no longer reward colleges’ wealth or reputation in and of themselves. Gone is the survey of academics on schools’ reputations. Gone are the rewards for instructional spending and the assumption that the quality of education is largely dictated by how expensive it is to produce.

In their place we’ve expanded the importance of student outcomes: graduation rates and graduate salaries.

Recent alumni have gone on to work at companies including the Big Four accounting firms, Pixar, Accenture, Goldman Sachs, Lockheed Martin, BlackRock, CBS Sports and Universal Music Group. Recent grads have also pursued postgraduate degrees at institutions including Harvard University, Boston University, Cornell University, The George Washington University and Columbia University. Muhlenberg has a more than 90 percent placement rate into medical school and dental school. Learn more about Muhlenberg outcomes here.

Find the complete explanation of the Wall Street Journal rankings here and the 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S. list here.