Study Reveals Minnesota’s Top Ten Colleges and Universities

Early college applications are due on November 1st for many schools, which means it is decision time for many high school students around the state of Minnesota.

With that in mind, personal-finance company WalletHub compared nearly 800 higher-education institutions to determine the best in the country as well as the top ten colleges and universities in the State of Minnesota.

Nationally, New Jersey's Princeton University took the top overall spot, while New Hampshire's Dartmouth College finished atop the list of colleges.

“In general, universities tend to rank higher than colleges due to their inclusion of graduate-level programs, greater on-campus opportunities and higher earnings for students post-graduation. In fact, the top 10 places for higher education in the U.S. are all universities," said WalletHub's Chip Lupo. "There are still tons of high-ranking colleges, though, which offer their own advantages like smaller class sizes, more personalized learning and often safer campuses.”

MINNESOTA 

1. CARLETON COLLEGE (NORTHFIELD, MN) 

Carleton College in Northfield ranked as the best college/university in Minnesota (and 48th overall) . Carleton ranked as the hardest to get into based on admission rate, had the best student-faculty rate, was the top-ranked school for gender and racial diversity. They also have the best graduation rate in the state.

#2 MACALESTER COLLEGE (ST. PAUL, MN) 

WalletHub ranks Macalester College as the second-best college/university in the state and 72nd overall thanks to the second-toughest admission rate, second-best student/faculty ratio, second-best rate of gender and racial diversity and second-best graduation rate.

#3 ST. OLAF COLLEGE (NORTHFIELD, MN) 

St. Olaf College posted top-five finishes in admission rate, net cost, student-faculty ratio, gender/racial diversity, graduation rate and post-attendance median salary. St. Olaf finished 104th overall.

4. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA- TWIN CITIES (200th overall)

5. CONCORDIA COLLEGE - MOORHEAD (234th overall)

6. BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE (MANKATO) (270th overall)

7. UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS (ST. PAUL) (352nd overall)

8. WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY (408th)

9. COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT (ST. JOSEPH) (417th)

10. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - DULUTH (439th)

BONUS - 11th- ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY (440th overall)