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Loyola University New Orleans Ranks Sixth in U.S. News & World Report

(New Orleans)—Loyola University New Orleans ranked sixth in the category of “Best Universities—Masters in the South” in the 19^th annual “America’s Best Colleges” issue and guidebook published by U.S. News & World Report. This is the fifth consecutive year Loyola has ranked sixth. For the last 15 years, Loyola has retained its position among the top 10 regional universities in the South.

In addition, Loyola ranked 14^th in the Southern region under “Great Schools, Great Prices,” ranking. The formula used to determine which schools offer the best value relates to a school’s academic quality as indicated by its U.S. News ranking, to the net of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid. Only schools ranked in the top of their categories are included on the premise that the most significant values are among colleges that are above average academically.

In commenting on this year’s ranking, University President Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., said, “Our ranking is a strong indication of the caliber of our student body, the quality of our faculty, and the strength of our academic programs. It also reflects our continuing commitment to provide our students with a superior education in the Jesuit tradition.”

The enrollment of the incoming class of 2009 is 991 and its combined grade point average is 3.6. The average standardized combined test scores for the SAT is 1212 and the students have an ACT composite of 26. These are impressive figures when compared to the scores of the national college-bound population’s average score of 1026 for the SAT and 21 for the ACT.