Wofford College climbed 11 spots on the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 list of national liberal arts colleges. Now at No. 59, Wofford also gained seven spots to No. 51 on the list of best value schools and is No. 71 as a top performer in social mobility among national liberal arts colleges.
In addition, the college topped the Wall Street Journal’s list of private liberal arts colleges in South Carolina and ranked in the top 25 among national liberal arts colleges. The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2024 ranking focused on student outcomes versus similar colleges (salary impact, resolution of debt and graduation rate), learning environment (opportunities, facilities, career preparation and student recommendations) and diversity (opportunities to interact with students from different backgrounds, including ethnic, socioeconomic, geographic and differences in abilities).
“Rankings are a measure of success. They validate what we know: The work of faculty and staff and the support of the Wofford alumni community are changing lives through our commitment to academic rigor, faculty-student mentoring and experiential learning,” says Wofford President Nayef Samhat.
U.S. News & World Report considers a variety of criteria when ranking top institutions into four categories: national liberal arts colleges, national universities, regional universities and regional colleges. Wofford is included in the national liberal arts category, which includes 211 institutions. Among the indicators that U.S. News considers are graduation and retention rates, Pell- or first-generation graduation rate performance, borrower debt, earnings, peer assessment, student-faculty ratio and financial resources per students.
“We are particularly pleased with our social mobility and best value rankings,” says Samhat. “Social mobility is linked to opportunity. A Wofford education provides that opportunity, changing lives and life trajectories for students and their families.”
In addition to scoring well in the graduation rate and retention categories, both of which influenced the social mobility distinction, Wofford also fared well in graduate earnings and financial resources per student, factors that also impacted the best value ranking. At Wofford College, 99% of students receive some form of financial assistance with the average financial aid package exceeding $35,000.
“Wofford puts people and programs in place to support student success in all its forms,” says Samhat. “We want every student who comes to Wofford College to have access to all that the community offers. These and other rankings help highlight that story.”
In addition to recent Wall Street Journal and U.S. News rankings, other publications place Wofford among the top liberal arts institutions in the nation.
- Princeton places Wofford among its 389 top colleges and in the top 209 “Best Value Colleges” for 2023. Wofford ranks No. 15 for “Best Alumni Network” and No. 1 for “Lots of Greek Life.”
- Forbes’ “America’s Top Colleges” ranks Wofford at No. 54 among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges. Wofford is in the top 100 for “America’s Best Small Employers 2023” and ranks as a best value as well.
- DegreeChoices lists Wofford as the No. 1 liberal arts college in the state and No. 10 in the country, based on graduate earnings.
Wofford also received high rankings from College Raptor, Money magazine and The New York Times, with earnings, graduation rate and retention continuing to point to Wofford moving the needle in social mobility and positive student outcomes following graduation.
Wofford College, established in 1854, is a four-year, residential liberal arts college located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It offers 27 major fields of study to a student body of 1,800 undergraduates. Nationally known for the strength of its academic program, outstanding faculty, study abroad participation and successful graduates, Wofford is recognized consistently as a “best value” and for its commitment to student success and accessibility for low- and middle-income students. The college community has 12 sororities and fraternities as well as 20 NCAA Division I athletics teams.