Saint Vincent College earns high marks from The Heritage Foundation and Washington Monthly

by Public Relations | December 11, 2024

LATROBE, PA - Saint Vincent College's strong and longstanding commitment to academic excellence, a well-rounded campus environment and post-graduate success is reflected by its inclusion in two recent national ratings.

Washington Monthly magazine ranked Saint Vincent at No. 121 among liberal arts colleges in the United States in its 2024 College Guide and Rankings. The Heritage Foundation listed Saint Vincent as a "great option" in its 2024 Choosing College with Confidence guide.

Washington Monthly annually ranks liberal arts colleges-four-year institutions that award almost exclusively bachelor's degrees and that focus on arts and sciences rather than professional programs-based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research and promoting public service.

Saint Vincent earned its No. 121 overall ranking from Washington Monthly by coming in at No. 118 in social mobility, No. 116 in research and No. 116 in public service. Saint Vincent also ranks No. 263 nationally on the "best bang for the buck" list of schools where students of modest means get the most for their money.

Among the numerous metrics Washington Monthly used to compile its rankings were eight-year graduation rate, percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, average net price, the amount of research spending, the number of alumni who earned doctorates, the size of ROTC programs and the number of alumni who serve in the Peace Corps.

Saint Vincent is one of two colleges in Pennsylvania to earn the "great option" rating from The Heritage Foundation. The "great option" label is applied to institutions that Heritage deems are best able to offer an intellectually rigorous environment that emphasizes freedom, opportunity and civil society.

Heritage's rating methodology includes school climate (students' perceptions of and experiences with free speech on campus); a curriculum review; return on investment; four-year graduation rate; binary measures such as whether the schools have a bias response team, departments of ethnic or gender studies, or require diversity statements in hiring; and the prevalence of diversity, equity and inclusion administrators.

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Saint Vincent College students