Undergraduate Admissions

Fortified by improvements in the academic quality of its student body, small class sizes, and graduation and retention rates, Gannon University is ranked 45th out of 165 peer schools in the new edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges 2005.”

“Gannon’s outstanding ranking places it in the top tier, or tier one, of the northern sector of the United States, which encompasses all of Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and the six New England states,” said Gannon University President Antoine M. Garibaldi, Ph.D. “Two years ago, in the university’s strategic planning process, we established a goal of achieving top-tier standing. It is a tribute to Gannon’s faculty and staff that we have attained this goal in two years.

“We are also pleased to have maintained our position in the top one-third of the regional institutions ranked in the ‘Universities-Master’s’ category, which includes institutions that provide a full range of undergraduate and master’s programs while offering few, if any, doctoral programs,” he added.

Adhering to its stated goal of being student-centered and focused on student learning, Gannon lowered its student/faculty ratio to 11/1, as compared with 13/1 one year ago. Gannon’s ratio of 11/1 was tied for fourth-best among the 83 schools ranked in the top tier of the university’s category.

Similarly, the university cut its percentage of classes with 50 or more students, lowering it from 0.3 percent last year to 0.2 percent this year.

Gannon also continued to make progress in strengthening the academic quality of its student body. In SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile, a category used to compile the rankings, the university currently stands at 940-1,160, as compared with 920-1,140 a year ago.

The university remained competitive with peer institutions in two other criteria U.S. News & World Report uses to rank schools: rates for graduation and freshman retention. In the current edition of the guide, Gannon’s freshman retention rate stands at 80 percent.

The university fared particularly well with respect to its graduation rates. Gannon’s rate in the current edition of the guide, 67 percent, was tied for 23rd—best among the 83 schools in the top tier of its category.

Other criteria used to rank schools include percentage of classes with 20 or fewer students, percentage of faculty who are full-time, freshmen graduating in the top 25 percent of their high school class, acceptance rates, and average alumni giving rates.