How We Rank Programs
Best College Reviews ranks the top schools and programs to help prospective students find the right fit to reach their personal and professional goals. As part of our mission to help students make informed decisions about higher education, we created a ranking methodology that offers reliable, objective information.
Our methodology highlights the areas that matter most to students, including academic quality, affordability, and earning potential after graduation. By considering over a dozen metrics, including retention rate, net price, median student debt, and average earnings after enrolling, our methodology provides the information students need to choose a school.
We regularly update our rankings with new data to respond to the changing field of higher education. In particular, our rankings focus on online programs that offer flexible routes to a degree. Here, we introduce our data sources, our ranking methodology, and the subfactors that go into creating our rankings.
About the Data We Use
Our rankings rely on reputable data sources that come from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). For example, we use data from College Scorecard, which reports information on college costs, loan default rates, and student borrowing. College Scorecard uses ED data to help prospective students compare schools, offering information on student outcomes such as graduation rates and employment.
We also use data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, a division of the ED, IPEDS collects data on college graduation rates, net prices, enrollment, and financial aid. Every college and university that participates in federal financial aid programs must complete IPEDS surveys. As a result, all regionally accredited institutions provide data to IPEDS.
By drawing on these reliable data sources, our methodology compares schools based on the metrics that matter most to students.
A Breakdown of Our Ranking Methodology
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 25% |
| Affordability | 15% |
| Reputation | 25% |
| Program Offerings | 20% |
| Online Enrollment Score | 15% |
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 25% |
| Affordability | 15% |
| Reputation | 25% |
| Program Offerings | 20% |
| Online Enrollment Score | 15% |
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 30% |
| Affordability | 15% |
| Reputation | 30% |
| Program Offerings | 25% |
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 25% |
| Affordability | 15% |
| Reputation | 30% |
| Online Enrollment Score | 30% |
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 30% |
| Affordability | 40% |
| Reputation | 30% |
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 15% |
| Affordability | 40% |
| Reputation | 15% |
| Program Offerings | 20% |
| Online Enrollment Score | 10% |
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 15% |
| Affordability | 60% |
| Reputation | 15% | Online Enrollment Score | 10% | [/hen-ui-table-row]
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 20% |
| Affordability | 50% |
| Reputation | 15% |
| Program Offerings | 15% |
| Metrics | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Quality | 15% |
| Affordability | 50% |
| Reputation | 20% |
| Program Offerings | 15% |
About Our Ranking Factors
Our ranking factors consider areas like academic quality, affordability, and reputation. These factors emphasize the student experience and the value of a degree. Learn more about our ranking factors in this section.
Academic Quality A high-quality institution prepares graduates with the knowledge and skills required for the workforce. Our subfactors look at the school's graduation rate, retention rate, and student-to-faculty ratio to measure academic quality.
School Affordability Affordability ranks at the top of many students' concerns when it comes to higher education. We assess affordability by looking at net prices, financial aid data, and median student debt after graduation.
School Reputation A strong reputation helps graduates advance their careers. This factor evaluates reputation by measuring the admission and enrollment rates, which indicate a school's selectivity. We also weigh the average earnings for graduates as a measure of school reputation.
Program Offerings This factor evaluates program offerings by degree level and the size of the school's online programs, including the percentage of students earning an online degree. We only take online data into account for online program rankings.
