September 22, 2021

Forbes business magazine named Susquehanna University one of the top universities in Pennsylvania in its latest college ranking.

The magazine’s latest ranking places Susquehanna at No. 26 among Pennsylvania colleges and universities included in Forbes’ nationwide ranking of 600 four-year schools drawn from the nearly 2,700 such degree-granting institutions in the U.S. Susquehanna is also ranked No. 13 among small, private colleges in Pennsylvania.

Forbes’ 2021 ranking used to be known as an annual ranking of America’s 300 Best Value Colleges. Forbes suspended the ranking in 2020, however, taking the pandemic year to reevaluate how they measure the best colleges in America.

The new Forbes ranking considers the success of schools in enrolling and graduating students who received federal Pell Grants (those typically coming from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually) and more accurately measures student outcomes. Data for the ranking is drawn from the following sources: the College Scorecard and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, two federal databases that track student outcomes and institutional characteristics; PayScale, a salary reporting and comparison company; Third Way, a D.C.-based think tank that developed the Price-to-Earnings Premium; and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.

Forbes weighted this data in seven general categories: alumni salary (20%) + student debt (15%) + return on investment (15%) + graduation rate (15%) + Forbes American Leaders List (15%) + retention rate (10%) + academic success (10%).

For the list of colleges and a detailed methodology, go here.