Alabama’s best university can be found in Tuscaloosa, according to a recent analysis.
Wallethub’s new national university rankings looked at a host of factors to determine the best schools in the country. Among the data considered were student selectivity; cost and financing; faculty resources; campus safety; campus experience; educational outcomes; and career outcomes.
The University of Alabama scored the highest in the state, doing particularly well – 43rd overall – in education outcomes, which includes retention and graduation rates. Nationally, UA ranked 258th.
The rankings included 1,000 public and not-for-profit private schools.
Top 10 colleges and universities in Alabama were:
- University of Alabama
- University of West Alabama
- University of Montevallo
- University of Alabama-Birmingham
- Birmingham-Southern College
- Jacksonville State University
- University of South Alabama
- University of Alabama-Huntsville
- Auburn University
- Troy University
UA earned high scores for its graduation rate and post-attendance median salary. University of West Alabama ranked first in two categories – admission rate and gender and racial diversity. University of Montevallo was third in admission rates and fifth in both student/faculty ratio and lowest-on campus crime.
Nationally, the top 10 universities were:
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. Harvard University
3. Princeton University
4. Yale University
5. Stanford University
6. California Institute of Technology
7. Duke University
8. University of Pennsylvania
9. Northwestern University
10. University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Rankings were also broken down by region.
In the South, the top 10 universities were:
1. Duke University
2. University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
3. Vanderbilt University
4. Rice University
5. Georgia Institute of Technology
6. University of Florida
7. University of Virginia
8. Emory University
9. Florida State University
10. College of William and Mary