Expanding on high marks made last year, Elizabethtown College saw gains in the U.S. News and World Report Best College Rankings for 2027.

Now in its 43rd year, the online newsmagazine’s college rankings sort more than 1,700 into various categories based on data provided by the schools themselves, the U.S. Department of Education and associations of higher education.

Although more nuanced than an exact science, the rankings serve as go-tos of information for prospective college students. College administrators also pay great attention to their institution’s rankings due to their outsized role in setting the reputation of the college or university.

The rankings have four groupings of institutions based on size and scope of programming. Due to its size, Etown is ranked in the Regional Universities grouping for the North region, which comprises Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Within the North region, Etown was ranked 32 out of 164 institutions, tying with Fairleigh Dickinson University Florham Campus, Niagara University, SUNY Maritime College and University of St. Joseph. In Pennsylvania, Etown is second only to Moravian University.

This is an improvement from last year’s rankings, where Etown was placed at 45 in the region and fourth in the state. 

The college’s rank in the general category is based on student outcomes (such as graduation and retention rates), peer institution assessments and faculty and financial resources. Beyond the general ranking, Etown also improved in several specialized categories.

U.S. News Best Value designation is chosen based on the college’s academic quality against the cost of an out-of-state student attending with the average amount of scholarships and student aid. Colleges that scored in the top half of academic categories are the only schools included in this ranking.

Last year, Etown scored 27th regionally for Best Value and fifth in Pennsylvania. It has since rocketted to tenth and first respectively.

Nationally, Etown has been ranked 44th, tying with ten other institutions, for undergraduate engineering programs at schools that do not offer a doctorate and are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET). This ranking is based on peer assessment surveys. In the state of Pennsylvania it ranks at fourth, behind Bucknell University, Lafayette College and Swarthmore College and tying with Duquesne University.

There has been much praise at Etown for the gains its engineering program has made in recent years.  Last year the program was ranked 46th and according to the college the program has climbed more than 100 spots in the U.S. News rankings since 2019.

“I am proud to see our engineering program getting national recognition for our thought leadership on topics such as mastery-based learning and mindset development,” Dr. Sara Atwood, Dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science, said in a statement. “It is a testament to the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the program who create the culture that allows new ideas to thrive.”

One slight decline was seen in Etown’s ranking in the area of undergraduate teaching. Nationwide collegiate presidents, provosts and deans were surveyed by U.S. News on which 15 of their peer institutions they believe have the greatest commitment to teaching undergraduate students to decide these rankings.

Last year, Etown tied for sixth in the North region for undergraduate teaching. This year, Etown tied with five other institutions for tenth. It is the only school in Pennsylvania ranked in this category.

“These rankings reflect the exceptional value of an Etown education that pairs personal attention with real-world preparation,” College President Betty Rider said in a statement. “That combination gives our students the confidence, experience, and critical thinking skills to pursue meaningful careers, contribute to their communities, and lead lives of purpose. We’re proud to see that commitment recognized across so many areas in this year’s rankings.”