For the 11th consecutive year, McPherson College earned recognition in U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 Best Colleges rankings, including the Best Regional Colleges and Top Private Colleges in the Midwest categories. This year, the college ranked in the top 20 Best Value Schools. Additionally, the college was recognized as a Top Performer in Social Mobility.
Only schools in or near the top half of their categories are included among the Best Value Schools. When evaluating colleges for this list, U.S. News considers academic quality and cost, emphasizing schools that are above average academically and provide significant value.
McPherson College was also recognized among colleges that advanced social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of students who receive Pell Grants. McPherson College performed well on the U.S. News’ social mobility ranking factors, which included borrower debt and college graduates earning in addition to Pell Grants.
“It is an honor to be included on such a well-respected list,” President Michael Schneider said. “It’s further proof that McPherson College is being recognized for the work being done by our faculty and staff to ensure quality education, excellent student experience, and value.”
Initiatives such as the college’s Student Debt Project, designed to help students graduate with little or no debt, and the college’s strong career placement rate are just a few examples of why McPherson College is recognized on the Best Colleges list, according to President Schneider.
“We have some of the highest placement rates in the country, with nearly three-fourths of our graduates having jobs or graduate school placement before they even graduate,” President Schneider said. “Combined with our focus on eliminating student debt, we are proving to students and families that a McPherson College education is the best choice, and our campus improvements are putting the needs of our students first to create a living and learning environment for the 21st century.”
McPherson College kicked off the academic year by welcoming 405 new students to campus, the largest new-student class in the history of the college. Overall enrollment is 916.
Additionally, McPherson College continues its unprecedented period of campus construction, recently announcing a new apartment-style residential complex. The 90,000-square-foot, four-story building will house more than 200 students when completed in fall 2027. Other building projects include construction and renovation of Templeton Hall, home to the college’s Automotive Restoration program, and renovation of the former Hoffman Student Union to house the college’s new mechanical engineering program.
Together, the three donor-funded projects represent a $50 million investment in campus.
U.S. News publishes the Best Colleges rankings each year to provide prospective students and their families with the comparative merits of the undergraduate programs at colleges and universities across the country. The rankings, which date back to 1983, offer detailed information on institutions, including graduation rates, postgraduate earnings, and other factors such as class size, undergraduate academic reputation, and colleges’ investment in instruction and student services. The 2027 edition of the rankings evaluated more than 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities, using 17 factors to measure academic quality and graduate success.