Rutgers-Newark ranks in the top ten for social mobility and Best Bang for your Buck of Northeast schools, according to Washington Monthly's college guide. Of 1,586 colleges nationwide included in the magazine’s college guide, RU-N’s overall rank is 44.
RU-N ranks second highest in New Jersey in all of these categories, behind Princeton University.
Washington Monthly touts its guide as the “socially conscious alternative” to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings system.
“Instead of rewarding schools for their prestige, wealth, and exclusivity, as U.S. News traditionally does, the Monthly gives points to those that help nonwealthy students earn remunerative degrees, encourage students to vote and serve their country, and produce the scholars and scholarship that drive economic growth and human betterment,’’ according to a statement from Washington Monthly.
The “Best Bang for the Buck” category evaluates factors such as the cost of attendance for families earning under $75,00 and median graduate earnings 10 years after entering college. It also considers the number of Pell graduates and rates of college loan repayment, among other considerations.
Rutgers-Newark ranked #9 in social mobility and #10 in the Bang for Your Buck among schools in the Northeast.
The Washington Monthly guide is critical of policies that exclude lower income students and fail to prepare them for careers that maximize their earning potential.
In addition to the Washington Monthly ranking, Rutgers-Newark was ranked 17th nationwide for economic mobility by Third Way, a national policy think tank and research organization
Last year, Rutgers-Newark was ranked first in the nation for “return on investment” among institutions with a high percentage of low-income students, according to a new report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
