GW dropped two places this year in Black Enterprise magazine’s “Best Colleges for African Americans” rankings, coming in 26th.

The rankings, appearing in this month’s edition of the magazine, rated 482 nationally accredited four-year colleges that have a black student population of at least three percent. Blacks comprise about 7.7. percent of GW’s overall student population.

Other D.C. colleges also making the cut this year include Howard University (4th) and Georgetown University (11th). Historically black Morehouse College in Atlanta was named the best college for blacks.

Junior Heather Howard, co-president of the Black Student Union, said she is “pleased” with the rankings.

“I think that GW in recent years has done a lot to change the environment here to make it more welcoming for African American students,” Howard said.

Howard cited minority recruitment initiatives in the admissions office and financial aid improvements as helping to create a more thriving black community on campus.

Howard added that the administration is “listening to the black community more” and that student organizations such as the BSU are “getting more funding.”

The magazine received help from about 400 black education professionals to determine the rankings. Each of the professionals filled out a questionnaire for schools they were familiar with, giving each school a social survey score and academic survey score.

The survey scores, along with each school’s black population and previous rating, determined this year’s rankings.