UMF, Bowdoin, MMA rank high in guide that focuses on low-income achievement
Courtesy / Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College was ranked 11th for liberal arts colleges in Washington Monthly's 2020 college rankings guide.
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The University of Maine at Farmington, Bowdoin College and Maine Maritime Academy get high marks in an annual college ranking guide that looks at how schools best serve students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, and promote upward mobility and civic engagement.
Washington Monthly's 2020 guide to colleges, in the magazine's September/October edition, have been published since 2005, with the exception of "Best Bang for the Buck," which began in 2009.
The colleges that score well on its rankings "are swimming against the tide of a higher education system that forces non-affluent students to pay ever-higher tuition, take on ever-growing amounts of debt and mortgage their futures," the magazine said.
UMF was ranked ninth on the list of colleges and universities that primarily award bachelor's degrees, and also was listed in the "Best Bang for Your Buck" in the Northeast. Maine Maritime Academy was No. 11 on the bachelor's degree list, and No. 13 on the Best Bang list. Bowdoin was No. 11 on the liberal arts college list, and also placed on the Best Bang list.
The magazine ranks the top 100 schools that promote upward mobility, research and civic engagement, with specific focuses on how low-income students fare both in graduating and income-wise after they graduate. It also gives schools marks for community engagement and service by students and other factors that can help students succeed.
Washington Monthly makes a point of differentiating from a prominent ranking of colleges done by U.S. News & World Report, contending that it "ranks schools based on their wealth, exclusivity and prestige ... The resulting lists of best colleges are, naturally, quite different too, and those differences reveal a great deal about what is right and wrong with the American higher education system."
U.S. News & World Report, which released its "Best Colleges" list on Sept. 14, and included Bowdoin, Colby and Bates in the top 25 of liberal arts colleges.
Maine bachelors' rankings
Washington Monthly's list of schools that primarily confer bachelor's degrees measures eight-year graduation rate (how many graduate within eight years after enrolling), number of Pell graduates (low-income students receiving Pell grants), median earnings 10 years after entering college, predicted median earnings 10 years after entering college, net price of attendance for families below $75,000 income, percent repaying $1 in loan principal five years after leaving college. It also ranks social mobility, research and service, which become part of the overall score.
At UMF, which was No. 9 in the country, 57% of students graduate after eight years, an average of 106 yearly are Pell graduates, the median income 10 years after beginning college is $35,080, the predicted median income is $31,962, the cost for families earning under $75,000 is $12,148 ,and 73% are paying their student loans five years after graduating. It ranked 18th for social mobility, 46 for research and 21 for service.
Maine Maritime Academy has a 65% eight-year graduation rate, 43 Pell graduates, 21% of students are first-generation; median earnings 10 years after graduating are $87,852, predicted median earnings are $63,004, the price of attendance for families below $75,000 household income is $19,914 and 88% are repaying student loans five years after leaving college.
Other Maine schools on the bachelor's list are University of Maine at Fort Kent (59) and University of Maine at Presque Isle (66). National for-profit school Purdue University Global-Lewiston was No. 39.
Maine liberal arts college rankings
The list of liberal arts colleges uses the same categories as the bachelor's degree list.
At Bowdoin, which was ranked 11th, 94% of students graduate, 59 are Pell graduates, median earnings 10 years after entering college are $61,037, predicted median earns are $58,439, the net price of attendance for families earning below $75,000 is $9,133 and 90% of graduates are repaying their loans five years after leaving. The college was ranked 18th for social mobility, 19th for research and 13th for service.
Other Maine liberal arts colleges in the list of 100 schools are Bates (21) and Colby (33).
Maine Best Bang for the Buck
Specific criteria for the Best Bang list are eight-year graduation rate, Pell/non-Pell graduate rate gap, number of Pell graduates, first-generation students, median earnings 10 years after entering college, predicted median earnings 10 years after entering college, net price of attendance for families below $75,000 income, percentage repaying $1 in loan principal five years after leaving college.
Maine Maritime Academy, at No. 11, has a -16% Pell/non-Pell graduate rate gap.
Other Maine schools on the list are Bowdoin (43), UMF (56) and Bates (72). Also on the list is for-profit school Purdue University Global-Lewiston (26).
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