Lafayette College ranked 14th in Forbes’ 2024-25 list of the best liberal arts colleges in the United States, according to rankings published in late August. The college also ranked 60th for overall colleges in the country, which marks a rise from 77th last year.
“The college is always pleased to be recognized for our outstanding programs, faculty, staff, and students,” Forrest Stuart, the vice president for enrollment management, wrote in an email.
“We do not make decisions based on rankings. Our focus is on student learning and growth,” he continued.
Forbes calculates their rankings with a mathematical formula that gathers information from two federal education databases, several data companies and Forbes’ own lists, according to the magazine’s website.
Colleges in the list are ranked on a variety of factors: alumni salary, student debt, graduation rate, the Forbes American Leaders List, return on investment, retention rate and academic success.
Simon Tonev, the director of institutional research, wrote in an email that students should not base their opinion of Lafayette on subjective rankings.
“Forbes heavily focuses on graduate outcomes more so than, say, the variety of available majors,” Tonev wrote. “Although both may be important, if one were more interested in the latter, Forbes’ ranking may not necessarily provide the most relevant analysis.”
Tonev also wrote that the Americans Leaders List, which aims to “gauge the leadership and entrepreneurial success of a college’s graduate” according to the Forbes website, is also imperfect. The list tracks undergraduate alma maters of members from lists such as “Forbes 30 under 30.”
“Ranking publications attempt to distinguish themselves from others by creating metrics that are unique (e.g., Forbes “American Leaders List”) and then applying their weights to each metric as an attempt to operationalize what makes a school ‘good,'” Tonev wrote.
“As such, whether a ranking is useful to prospective students, parents, etc. really depends on how closely their conception of ‘good’ matches with the ranking publication’s,” he continued.
According to Stuart, prospective college students and families do consult rankings as part of the college selection process.
However, according to Stuart, this can “take the focus off of what makes that school distinctive” and students may risk ultimately “chasing a moving target.”
Tonev believes that Lafayette’s increased rank is due to its success in three areas.
“Lafayette is fortunate in that many of our graduates can pursue fulfilling, lucrative careers,” he wrote. “Combined with our generous financial aid, Lafayette is likely in a particularly strong position in Forbes’ ranking with respect to Alumni Salary, Return on Investment, and Debt.”
Some students spoke highly of Lafayette’s ranking by Forbes.
“It is pretty exciting to hear that Forbes does think we’re a top 15 liberal arts college,” Iyunade Franklin-Ayeni ’28 said. “That makes me think the money being spent is going to be worth it, hopefully.”
Fiona O’Connor ‘27 feels that the rankings are important for Lafayette to gain recognition outside of the East Coast.
“I don’t think anyone knew where I was going when I told people [I go to] Lafayette, but maybe that will change if people listen to the ranks,” said O’Connor, who comes from the Midwest.
Rachel Tielking ’27 had a more neutral reaction.
“I don’t think it really affects my opinion of the school because I feel like a lot of those rankings are based on things that don’t really matter,” Tielking said. “I don’t think people should decide their school based on how high up it is on a list. I think they should decide on how much they like it.”
This year in rankings, the college was also recognized as a top 20 college for women in STEM, according to the Washington Monthly. Last year, Lafayette was ranked by U.S. News World Report as the 30th best liberal college in the country. This year’s rankings from the U.S. News World Report will be released on Sept. 24, according to its website.
