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The new study uses a set of comprehensive metrics to determine whether a college offers students sufficient resources to succeed, whether students feel challenged and engaged, whether the student body is diverse and international and whether graduates succeed by paying off their loans and are able to find satisfying, high paying jobs.
In the Pac-12, No. 1 Stanford and USC are the two universities in the top 25, while UCLA (No. 26) and Cal (No. 37) place in the top 50. The Trojan Family can be even prouder of its standing when context is applied, ranking second nationally in the area of Environment - which measures the diversity of both students and faculty. USC's ranking in this category was boosted in part by the high proportion of Pell Grant-eligible and first generation students in its undergraduate student body.
"Throughout USC's academic ascent, we have always prioritized maintaining a student body that is representative of the country and the world at large. So over and above our impressive national ranking, the Trojan Family should take great pride in our diversity scores, which prove once and for all that academic excellence and inclusion are not mutually exclusive priorities," said USC president C. L. Max Nikias.
Other areas where USC showed strength was in the area of outcomes, where USC students reported graduation rates, salaries, and their ability to repay loans in the highest percentile nationally.
Added Nikias, "I am also thrilled to see, based on student surveys, how well our students perform after they graduate. There is no doubt that our Trojan graduates chart a path to success in parallel with graduates from our peer universities, which are the very top institutions in the country."
