U.S. Naval Academy the most popular liberal arts college, rankings say
U.S. News & World Report looks at number of accepted students who decide to enroll as freshmen
By Liz F. Kay, The Baltimore Sun
4:37 PM EST, January 25, 2011
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The U.S. Naval Academy has been named the nation's most popular liberal arts college, according to a ranking published by U.S. News & World Report magazine.
The academy tops the magazine's popularity list of schools based on its yield — the number of accepted students who decide to enroll as freshmen.
In the fall of 2009, 1,251 of the 1,464 students accepted to the Naval Academy chose to enroll, a yield of 85.5 percent.
"We think this is indicative of the great opportunity the Naval Academy affords our nation's most talented and well-rounded young Americans to serve as leaders in the Navy and Marine Corps," Vice Adm. Michael H. Miller, superintendent of the academy, said in a prepared statement.
Second on the list is the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, with a yield of 77 percent, according to the magazine. Both service academies have rigorous admissions requirements, and so applicants may be more committed than others, according to the magazine. To be accepted, most candidates must be nominated by a member of Congress and must pass a fitness test.
U.S. News and World Report defines a "liberal arts college" as one that places an emphasis on undergraduate education and awards 50 percent of its degrees in the liberal arts.
At 76.9 percent, Brigham Young University in Utah tops the popularity list for national universities, which are research-oriented institutions that offer a variety of degrees.
U.S. News and World Report ranked the academy 16th on its list of "Best Liberal Arts Colleges" in its September 2010 issue. It was ranked fifth for "Best Undergraduate Engineering" programs.
Other Maryland schools on the most popular liberal arts colleges list include St. Mary's College of Maryland, with a 35.3 percent yield.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Maryland, College Park; Morgan State University; and the Johns Hopkins University were all on the "national university" list.
liz.kay@baltsun.com
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