Ratings & Rankings
The word is out: Ohio Wesleyan University is among the select, prime, choice colleges in the country.
And while we're busy making the news, we're not the only one spreading it. Respected national publications have taken note of OWU's success and are writing about us. Read on for the experts' take on where we stand and we're rated so highly.
U.S. News & World Report: OWU ranks among the "Best National Liberal Arts Colleges" and "Top Performers on Social Mobility." Complete story
Payscale: OWU is ranked as one of 2023's top national, state, and liberal arts colleges in salary potential for graduates in their early and mid-careers. Complete story
Forbes Magazine: OWU ranks No. 1 in Ohio and No. 17 among "America's Most Entrepreneurial Colleges 2015." Complete story
Money Magazine: OWU ranks as one of Money's "Best Colleges in America." To create its 2023 list, Money examined 26 quality, affordability, and student outcomes data points from the nation's four-year colleges. The magazine chose only 736 of the more than 2,400 U.S. schools for its list. Complete story
National Science Foundation: Ohio Wesleyan ranks No. 68 among all U.S. colleges (public and private) for the percentage of STEM graduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees in STEM fields. OWU also ranks No. 46 in the United States for women who go on to earn doctorates as well as No. 21 for women who earn doctorates in the life sciences or biological sciences. The rankings come from the Council of Independent College's 2019 report, "Strengthening the STEM Pipeline Part II: The Contributions of Small and Mid-Sized Independent Colleges," using 2007-2016 data from the National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, and Survey of Earned Doctorates.
The Fiske Guide to Colleges: One of the "best and most interesting" four-year colleges in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland – a "small school with a big commitment to providing its students with a well-rounded education." Complete story
Colleges That Change Lives: One of only 40 U.S. colleges and universities included in the latest guidebook created by a former New York Times education editor. Newest edition
The small university ... is a shining beacon of what happens when a campus embraces collaboration in the context of liberal learning. All types of students are engaged. Professors are invigorated.
Washington Monthly: Among the nation's top liberal arts colleges, selected "based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and promoting public service." Complete story
The Princeton Review: One of the "Best 389 Colleges" in the United States. Only about 15% of America's four-year colleges are profiled in the book, according to its editors, and they are chosen based on information collected annually from students and college administrators.
The Princeton Review: One of the nation's "Best Value Colleges," a listing of U.S. colleges and universities recommended for students seeking "outstanding academics and excellent career services." Only about 1.2% of all four-year undergraduate schools made the latest list. Complete story
Columbus Navigator: No. 18 among the "most influential colleges and universities in Ohio," as well as No. 242 in U.S. influence and No. 809 in global influence. The December 2022 rankings are based on influence tracking provided by AcademicInfluence.com. The Ohio schools on the list are considered "the top Ohio universities and colleges with rich histories of developing influential scholars and thought leaders," Columbus Navigator states. Complete story
Kiplinger's Personal Finance: One of the "Best College Values, 2018" among all U.S. colleges and all liberal arts colleges. Complete story
MORE GOOD NEWS AND NUMBERS
A 2017 New York Times report shows 66.9% of lower-income OWU students moved to the top 40% in income 10 years after graduation - a higher mark than schools such as Denison, Kenyon, Miami, Oberlin, and Wooster.
New York Times names Columbus one of its 52 Places to Go in 2019. Compete story
Ohio Wesleyan was recognized by the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for general and interfaith community service with distinction, where students logged more than 40,000 hours of service during the reporting period. Complete story
The "OWU Better Together" campaign, which focused on issues of food supply and hunger, received a national 2013-2014 Interfaith Youth Core award for "Best Overall Campaign." Complete story
PHI BETA KAPPA ranked OWU among the top 8% of America's most distinguished colleges and universities that have a chapter of the nation's oldest academic honor society. Complete story
Over the past 10 years, Ohio Wesleyan students were accepted into medical school 100% of the time when their OWU GPAs and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores were at or above the national mean for acceptance.