Cornell College in the top 100 National Liberal Arts Colleges

Cornell College maintains a strong position in the top 100 schools in the newly released 2021 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.

The report lists Cornell as #76 out of 221 national liberal arts colleges. 

Cornell was also included in a new category this year as one of the most innovative schools. Among the national liberal arts colleges, Cornell was #18. According to the U.S. News website, this ranking enables top college officials to pick schools that the public should be watching because of the cutting-edge changes the colleges are making on their campuses. 

“After years of hard work, we fully incorporated our Ingenuity curriculum, a new way of looking at the liberal arts, this academic year,” Cornell College President Jonathan Brand said. “It’s designed to give students hands-on learning experiences and skills that will set them up for success when they graduate. We know this new curriculum, on top of over 40 years of experience with our block plan, will make our students unstoppable.”

Cornell also took #10 in the social mobility category among national liberal arts colleges. This ranking measures how well schools graduate students who receive federal Pell Grants. Pell Grants are typically awarded to households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 a year.

“I am proud of Cornell College for this outcome because it means that we are helping all of our students, including those with financial struggles, to succeed, especially as compared to other schools,” Brand said. “This is a result-oriented measurement and says a lot about our success at achieving our mission.”

Finally, among the national liberal arts schools, Cornell landed the #52 spot on the Best Value Schools (up from #66 last year) and #57 on the undergraduate teaching rankings. These recognize Cornell for academic quality and the faculty’s strong commitment to teaching undergraduates.