Westmont Soars in U.S. News Rankings

Westmont leaped nine spots in this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts colleges according to U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges, 2012 Edition.” Of the nation’s 252 liberal arts colleges, Westmont finished tied for 90th, its highest ranking as a national liberal arts college. It’s also the third straight year Westmont has ranked in the top 100.

“I’m pleased to see yet another indication that Westmont is moving up the ranks of top-tier academic institutions,” says Gayle D. Beebe, president of Westmont.

Only seven other liberal arts colleges in California appear in the top 100: Pomona (4th), Claremont McKenna (9th), Harvey Mudd (18th), Scripps (29th), Occidental (37th), Pitzer (42nd) and Thomas Aquinas (71st) Colleges.

Westmont is just one of two liberal arts colleges among the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) in the top 100, and the only one in California to be listed in the first tier. Westmont moved into the third tier in 2000, into the second in 2003 and into the top tier in 2005. In 1985, Westmont tied for seventh in Regional Liberal Arts Colleges, the first time the college was ranked.

Westmont moved up in the 2012 rankings in the areas of undergraduate academic reputation, smaller class sizes, improved SAT scores and the percentage of freshmen who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

“We’re pleased to be recognized as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation,” says Silvio Vazquez, dean of admission. “An increasing number of students are expressing interest in Westmont’s distinctive program, which goes beyond rigorous academics to educate the whole person.”

Last month, Forbes magazine recognized Westmont in their 2012 America’s Top Colleges list, which includes 650 institutions. Westmont ranks 76th, up from 81st last year. Nine other California colleges and universities appear in the top 100: Stanford (5th), Claremont McKenna College (12th), California Institute of Technology (13th), Pomona College (23rd), Scripps (41st), Harvey Mudd College (44th), UCLA (55th), Santa Clara University (57th) and UC Berkeley (70th).