Baruch College Ranks #1 Nationwide for Social Mobility

Propelling Students to Excellence and Opportunity

December 1, 2021

For the seventh consecutive year, Baruch College ranked #1 in the nation on CollegeNET’s Social Mobility Index (SMI), the premier benchmark recognizing colleges that move students from low-income families into good paying jobs.

This latest ranking tops off a semester of national recognitions that single out Baruch’s academic excellence, along with the College’s affordability and access.

“The CollegeNET #1 ranking has once again confirmed Baruch’s unique value proposition—achieving academic excellence while advancing the social mobility of our students,” said Baruch College President S. David Wu. “At a time when the value and relevance of a college education is increasingly questioned, our ability to propel students from all social and economic backgrounds to excellence and opportunity is more important than ever before.”

Baruch: An Engine of the American Dream

CollegeNET’s #1 ranking for Baruch is yet another national recognition of the College as a catalyst for the economic and social mobility of its students. The institution is widely understood to serve as a “true engine of the American Dream.”

As Dr. Raj Chetty –– the Harvard economist and renowned social mobility expert –– said when he spoke at Baruch’s 2020 Commencement, the College is an “escalator for kids coming from lower- and middle-income families…helping them rise up and reach the middle class or even beyond.”

He continued, “Baruch stands as an example to be emulated in the American higher education system.

***Watch: Dr. Ray Chetty’s remarks about Baruch College***

National Recognition for Excellence and Opportunity

In the last year alone, Baruch has placed at #1—or near the top—of multiple rankings that point to the College’s academic excellence, value, and access for students of all backgrounds.

• #2 Best Value College: Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education
• #1 in Northeast on The Princeton Review’s “Top 50 Best Value Colleges 2021” for Public Schools
• Baruch Repeats #1 QuantNet Ranking as Nation’s Best Financial Engineering Program
• #2 top performer on social mobility in S. News & World Report’s Best Regional Universities in the North
• Top 25 percent of schools nationwide by Forbes based on new methodology to “better account for which schools are serving as true engines of the American Dream.
• #2 Most Affordable College in the Nation by Intelligent.com
• #2 in Washington Monthly’s “Best Bang for your Buck” List for the Northeast

Methodology

CollegeNET’s Social Mobility Index is computed from five variables: published tuition, percent of student body whose families whose incomes are below $48,000 (slightly below the US median), graduation rate, median salary approximately five years after graduation, and endowment. The SMI is calculated using tiers based on three concepts: access, outcome, and institutional capability. CollegeNET collects data from third party sources including the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and IPEDS. More information about the SMI is available here.

CollegeNET President Jim Wolfston explained the importance of the SMI in a press release, saying, “Unlike other college rankings that celebrate wealth and its proxies, the SMI helps families and policymakers determine which colleges are addressing the national problem of economic mobility.”

According to Wolfson, “higher education administrators then have a better chance to help strengthen US economic mobility if they can identify and learn from colleges that are skilled at doing this.”

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