On Sept. 27, Saint Mary’s College announced in a press release the national rankings of the institution for 2025. These rankings were awarded to the College by the U.S. News in its listings of the Best Colleges for 2025 through the organization’s annual survey of nearly 1,500 colleges and universities nationwide.
Saint Mary’s ranked no. 80 in the annual ranking of top National Liberal Arts Colleges, tied with Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania and St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Top liberal arts colleges are ranked based on a number of factors, including but not limited to graduation rates, ethnic and economic diversity, undergraduate education and the awarding of merit aid.
Within the subfield of liberal arts colleges, the College ranked no. 33 in the distinction of Top Performers on Social Mobility, tied with Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. This distinction describes the college or university’s ability to enroll and graduate economically disadvantaged students with the use of Pell Grants. According to U.S. News, the large majority of these federal grants “are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000.”
Saint Mary’s was also ranked no. 43 in the distinction of Best Value Schools in the liberal arts college subfield. The calculation of the rankings for this distinction takes into account the college or university’s academic quality, based off of the 2025 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, and the net cost of attendance for an out-of-state student receiving the average amount of need-based financial aid in the 2023-2024 academic year.
According to the College’s press release, president Katie Conboy expressed contentment with the offered rankings.
“While rankings are only one measure of a college’s success, our students, faculty and staff are pleased to see Saint Mary’s recognized as a premier destination for women seeking a personal, challenging and supportive learning environment,” Conboy said. “The Sisters of the Holy Cross came here in 1844 with a big idea to give women access to education. We have always been guided by the Sisters’ concept: read the signs of the times and respond to them. Saint Mary’s has been brilliant at recognizing what the world needs and developing the programs and people who can respond to those needs.”
