Rice cited on multiple college-ranking lists

Earlier this month the annual rankings of best colleges by U.S. News & World Report were in the media spotlight, but a number of other college rankings were issued this month also. Rice fared well in most of them, and the recognition can have an impact on the university’s visibility and recruitment.

“We’re always appreciative of Rice doing well in so many national rankings,” said Chris Muñoz, vice president for enrollment. “The number of applicants for this year’s class was up by 15 percent, and I think that reflects that more and more people are aware that Rice University provides an exceptional educational experience of great value.”

U.S. News ranked Rice No. 19 among national universities, No. 9 among best values and No. 5 for Rice’s biomedical engineering specialty.

Here are some other recent rankings that mentioned Rice:

* Rice is No. 11 among undergraduate universities in PayScale’s 2015 College Salary Report, which ranks schools on the basis of the highest-earning graduates.

* Rice is also No. 11 on the New York Times’ ranking of the most economically diverse schools based on the share of freshmen from low-income families and the net price of attendance for low- and middle-income families. The ranking, published in “The Upshot” column, includes only schools with a graduation rate of 75 percent or higher.

* Rice is No. 7 on Glassdoor’s 2014 list of the top 25 universities to work for. The results are based on employee feedback shared on Glassdoor about such areas as career opportunities, compensation and benefits, culture and values, senior management and work/life balance, and the list was also published in Forbes. (Rice was also selected as one of Houston’s best places to work by the Houston Business Journal for the ninth year in a row, based on employee surveys.)

* Rice is No. 5 in a new national ranking of colleges by Niche.com (formerly College Prowler) that is based both on student surveys and hard data.

* Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business has the No. 4 graduate entrepreneurship program in the U.S. for the third consecutive year, according to the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.

* Forbes’ “America’s Top Colleges” for 2014 ranks Rice No. 32 overall, No. 30 among private schools and No. 3 among colleges in the South, No. 18 among research universities and No. 27 based on return on investment. The rankings are based on student satisfaction, graduation rates, career success and student debt.

* Money magazine ranked Rice No. 20 among the national’s top 50 colleges and No. 16 among the 25 best private colleges, based on educational quality, affordability and alumni earnings.

* In the Princeton Review’s 2015 edition of “The Best 379 Colleges” that was published in August, Rice was rated among the country’s top 10 in five categories, including No. 2 for best quality of life and No. 6 for happiest students. The rankings are based mostly on student surveys.

* The Fiske Guide to Colleges named Rice University one of 22 best buys for 2015. The list includes private universities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and is based on quality academic offerings and affordable cost.

* Rice is No. 30 on CollegeFactual.com, which compares the quality of education regardless of whether the institution is designated a research university or a liberal arts college.

* Rice is No. 28 on Active Times‘ list of the 50 fittest colleges for 2014. Among the criteria used for the rankings were amenities offered at the campus gym, climate, professional dietary advice, proximity to outdoor recreation and campuswide programs, the number, success and involvement of sports programs (both varsity and intramural), the quality of athletic facilities, the healthfulness of campus dining options and quality-of-life ratings.