Inside Iowa State

Aug. 24, 2007

Iowa State is among Washington Monthly's top-ranked universities

by Diana Pounds

For the third consecutive year, Iowa State University is ranked among the top U.S. universities by Washington Monthly magazine.

Iowa State ranks 21 out of 242 ranked national universities in Washington Monthly's 2007 ranking. Last year, Iowa State was no. 38 in the rankings.

Washington Monthly bills its college rankings as a "guide not just to what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country."

"Government provides colleges and universities with billions of dollars in research grants, tax benefits and student financial aid," editors wrote in the rankings introduction. "If parents and teachers deserve to know how well colleges are spending their tuition dollars, shouldn't average citizens also have a way of finding out how well schools are spending their tax dollars?"

The rankings are based on schools' commitment to:

• Recruiting and graduating poorer students
• Supporting "scientific and humanistic study that is key to our national strength"
• Fostering an ethic of giving back to the country, through military or civilian service.

See Washington Monthly 2007 College Guide.

ISU ranks among the top U.S. universities by Washington Monthly Magazine.