The Washington Monthly magazine just released its 2020 College Guide and Rankings, and New College of Florida was named No. 2 (up from No. 3 last year) among public liberal arts colleges. New College was also ranked No. 32 overall among “Four-Year Liberal Arts Colleges,” up from No. 53 last year.
Known as “the socially conscious alternative to the U.S. News & World Report,” The Washington Monthly ranks colleges on how well they serve the country—by recruiting and graduating non-wealthy students, encouraging student activism, and producing research and technologies that create high-paying jobs related to issues like climate change.
Colleges that score well in this guide “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,” according to the publication.
During a critical year for civic engagement, the guide also highlights institutions that take demonstrative steps to increase student voting. New College placed No. 2 among all colleges and universities for student voter participation in the 2018 election.
“Today’s college students are the most socially active in decades, and keenly aware of how the higher education system is screwing them,” said Paul Glastris, The Washington Monthly’s editor-in-chief. “This issue of the magazine gives them metrics they can use to hold their own schools accountable, and ideas we can all use to turn the system around.”
For more information on the 2020 guide, visit washingtonmonthly.com/2020college-guide