Beacon College vaulted towards the top of Southern colleges and universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 Best Colleges regional rankings, earning a No. 3 ranking, after moving up to tenth last year.
In its annual rankings, released today, the magazine rated the Leesburg nonprofit liberal arts school No. 3 among the 99 schools evaluated in its Best Regional Colleges South category.
The premier placement lands Beacon — America’s first accredited baccalaureate school dedicated to educating neurodivergent students primarily with learning disabilities and ADHD — in the top tier for the second consecutive year.
“The accomplishment of Beacon College’s placement now in the top three verifies the hard work of Beacon students and the tireless commitment of our faculty and staff to their success,” said Dr. Shelly Chandler, Beacon provost.
Additionally, Beacon climbed to No. 5 among the regional colleges as a top performer on social mobility. According to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges, “some colleges are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students.” Beacon continues to be ranked as a top-value college and is committed to ensuring students with learning differences have access to a premier education.
The “Regional Colleges” category applies to schools that focus on undergraduate education but award fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts fields.
The top three ranking marks the fourth consecutive year U.S. News has recognized Beacon’s excellence with a spot in the top tier of its Best Regional Colleges in the South. Last year, Beacon ranked No. 10 out of nearly 132 small colleges and universities across the region.
This recent accolade continues a trend of increased national recognition of Beacon College’s growing reputation for the college’s specialized mission and, of equal importance, its standing among all accredited colleges and universities.
Among the college’s most recent “Top 20” national and regional survey placements, these currently stand out: the respected Peterson Guide’s No. 1 national ranking in its designation of “20 Great Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities;” Best Value Schools’ No. 1 ranking in its “The 20 Best Value Colleges for Learning Disabilities;” No. 1 on the list of “10 Great Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities,” compiled by Gradehacker.com; and Beacon College’s No. 4 national ranking in Best Choice Schools analytical survey of “The 20 Most Affordable Colleges with High Four-year Graduation Rates” — a 2019 study in which Beacon was among far better known and endowed colleges and universities.
“Our outcomes are a result of the determination and perseverance of the entire community,” Chandler said.
