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Wesleyan is tied at Number 9 with Haverford College in the ranking of top liberal arts colleges.
"We went up from 11 to 9," Pesci said. "We’ve been one of the top schools for at least five or six years."
Those on the list are from the 217 liberal arts colleges that offer undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees, according to the U.S. News Web site. The schools are categorized by their mission, and the company gathered data from a variety of indicators of academic excellence. The colleges are then ranked against their peers based on composite weighted scores.
Among the indicators used to rank the colleges and universities include peer assessment, retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduate rate performance and alumni giving, according to the U.S. News Web site.
"It’s nice to be recognized by our peers," Pesci said. "Parents take a lot more stock in them than the kids."
The university was also chosen by Kaplan-Newsweek within its "America’s 25 Hottest Schools" as the "Hottest for Diversity."
The list does not rank the schools chosen numerically, but rather by attributes, Pesci said. The Newsweek article cites more than a third of Wesleyan students "are students of color and 7 percent are international students. An additional 15 percent are first in their family to attend a four-year college."
The university’s enrollment is 53 percent women and 47 percent men, according to the university’s Web site. Students come from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 45 countries.
The enrollment, as of Monday, is estimated at 2,781, Pesci said. It is expected to have 730 incoming freshmen, he said. Registration for classes begin Sept. 2, and classes start Sept. 6.
Within the Newsweek article, Dean of Admissions Nancy Hargrave Meislahn was cited as saying, "We want to include everyone who would benefit and contribute to the kinds of discussions we have in classes."
To contact Amy L. Zitka, call (860)347-3331 ext. 211 or email azitka@middletownpress.com.
