UW–Madison ranked No. 59 among Best Colleges in America 

Niche, a platform connecting students and families with colleges and schools, recently released its 2024 Best Colleges Rankings and found UW–Madison to be No. 59 among Best Colleges in America. With updated data for 4,048 colleges nationwide, Niche’s latest rankings feature updated methodology to better evaluate economic mobility and to reflect the declining importance of standardized test scores.

UW–Madison was also ranked the No. 1 Best College in Wisconsin, No. 14 among Top Public Universities, and No. 58 in Best Value Colleges in America. Additional UW accolades can be found here.

Niche combines data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education with user input — reviews and ratings from current students, alumni, and parents — in an analysis of factors including academics, athletics, food, and campus life. 

One of the most significant changes to the methodology this year was to refine the Best Value Colleges ranking by adding an Economic Mobility Index factor to highlight the colleges whose students are able to improve their economic status after graduation. This index reflects data on the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, the net price of tuition for students from low-income households, and the median earnings of those students six years after entry.

In addition to introducing the Economic Mobility Index, Niche has updated its methodology to reflect the shift away from standardized testing. All SAT/ACT-related factors have been removed from Niche’s 2024 college rankings.

The 2024 list of Best Colleges in America also includes Yale University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Princeton University. 

The full list of 2024 Best Colleges rankings can be found online.