GW rose 10 spaces to No. 61 in Forbes’ annual “America’s Top Colleges” rankings list, which the magazine published Tuesday.
GW has been gradually rising in Forbes’s college rankings over the past few years, including when it rose from No. 78 in the country in 2019 to No. 71 in 2021. Forbes determines the ranks of each university based on metrics including alumni salaries, debt, graduation rates, return on investment, retention rate, academic success and the number of people that make Forbe’s American Leaders List like the Forbes 30 under 30.
GW is also ranked as the No. 42 private college and No. 50 research university.
U.S. News and World Report ranked GW No. 63 in last year’s rankings of higher education institutions.
Half of GW’s 12 peer institutions rank above the University on the Forbes list, including the University of Southern California, Boston, New York, Tufts, Wake Forest and Georgetown universities. The University of Miami, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Rochester, Northeastern, Syracuse and Tulane universities all ranked below GW in this year’s list.
Forbes “grades” U.S. colleges and universities based on their financial security by examining a string of statistics including the amount of assets, expenses, number of students and endowment. Forbes gave GW a “B-” grade with a financial GPA of 2.76 in a list released last week.
In 2021, the University held a “B” grade with a financial GPA of 2.87, indicating GW’s financial standing degraded as it emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.
