{"id":8749,"date":"2014-09-10T14:17:43","date_gmt":"2014-09-10T19:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=8749"},"modified":"2024-07-02T14:42:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T14:42:07","slug":"5th-among-national-public-universities-for-14th-year-in-a-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=8749","title":{"rendered":"5th among national public universities for 14th year in a row"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again, the nation\u2019s oldest public university is also ranked one of the best.<\/p>\n

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill rates fifth among the nation\u2019s best public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report\u2019s 2015 \u201cAmerica\u2019s Best Colleges\u201d guidebook.<\/p>\n

Carolina \u2013 a top public research university strongly committed to access and affordability \u2013 now has been ranked No. 5 for 14 straight years.<\/p>\n

“Being ranked among the top five national public universities by U.S. News and World Report for the 14th consecutive year is a great honor and represents a commitment to excellence throughout our campus,\u2019\u2019 said UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol L. Folt. \u201cOur high rankings across the leading national surveys reflect the outstanding work by our students, faculty and staff that continue to make Carolina one of the most excellent and desired public universities in America.”<\/p>\n

The order for the top five public universities also remained unchanged:\u00a0 University of California-Berkeley ranked first, followed by University of California-Los Angeles and University of Virginia (tied for second), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (fourth) and UNC-Chapel Hill (fifth).<\/p>\n

U.S. News rankings are based on several key measures of quality, weighted as follows: graduation and retention rates (22.5 percent), assessment of excellence by peers and counselors (22.5 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (12.5 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (difference between actual and predicted graduation rates, 7.5 percent) and alumni giving (5 percent).<\/p>\n

Yet Carolina, which boasted a record 31,331 applications for 2014 admission, offers even more. It has been ranked first among the 100 best U.S. public colleges and universities that offer student high-quality academics at an affordable price 13 straight times by Kiplinger\u2019s Personal Finance.\u00a0 It features 325 study abroad programs in 70 countries. It rates seventh nationally in university research funding from the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n

And the Carolina Covenant, in its 10th year, is UNC-Chapel Hill\u2019s promise to youth from low-income families who earn admission that they can graduate debt-free. Grants, scholarships, and work-study jobs allow Covenant Scholars the opportunity to graduate from Carolina without student loans. More than 4,000 high-achieving, low-income students have been supported, earning an average 3.0 grade point average.<\/p>\n

Among both national public and private universities, UNC ranked 30th overall according to US News & World Report, the same as last year. Other publics were 20th (Berkeley), tied for 23rd (UCLA and Virginia) and 29th (Michigan). Among the top five publics, overall composite scores remained the same at Berkeley (79) , UCLA and Virginia (76), and went down two points at Michigan (72) and one point at UNC (71).<\/p>\n

Other U.S. News rankings results for UNC-Chapel Hill included the following:<\/p>\n