Penn, Swarthmore gets rankings love

The latest college rankings are out from U.S. News & World Report, and lots of area institutions of higher ed get high marks.

Among "national universities" - schools with lots of Ph.D. programs - Princeton was No. 2 behind Harvard, after they tied last year. The University of Pennsylvania was No. 5, about the same as last year, when it tied for fourth.

Swarthmore is again No. 3 among liberal arts colleges, behind Williams and Amherst, while Haverford tied for No. 9.

Villanova was again No. 1 in the Northeast among "regional universities," defined as having "a full range of undergrad programs and some master's programs but few doctoral programs." Villanova also tied with Bucknell for ninth-best engineering program without a doctorate.

Penn was No. 1 for best business program, with Pittsburgh's Carnegie-Mellon University No. 7 for business, No. 8 for engineering program with a Ph.D.

The country's most selective school? Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music.

Among "up and coming" national universities, Drexel finished second, behind University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and the University of Delaware was No. 8, while Ursinus was No. 2 among liberal arts colleges, behind Arkansas' Hendrix College.

Undergrad teaching kudos went to four area liberal arts colleges, with Swarthmore ranked eighth, Bryn Mawr ninth, and Haverford and Ursinus tied for 25th.

Bryn Mawr tied with Bucknell for No. 30 among national liberal arts colleges, with other Pennsylvania and New Jersey schools finishing as follows: (38) Lafayette, (41) Franklin and Marshall, (47) Dickinson and Gettysburg, (71) Ursinus, (75) Muhlenberg, (79) Drew and (81) Juniata.

Carnegie Mellon was No. 23 among national universities, while Lehigh was No. 37, Penn State 47, Rutgers and University of Pittsburgh tied for No. 64, and Drexel and Stevens Institute of Technology tied for 86, Duquesne was 120, and Temple University 132.

This year's rankings relied less on the opinions of college administrators, giving weight to the opinions of high school counselors for the first time. After reputation, graduate and freshman retention rates, faculty resources and student selectivity were the biggest factors.

For more, go to www.usnews.com.