Boston College places 45th among all U.S. colleges and universities in new Wall Street Journal survey

Boston College placed 45th among colleges and universities nationwide in a new Wall Street Journal survey of America’s best colleges, released on September 6.

Officially titled Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S., the survey focuses on outcome measurements and student input, in contrast to US News, which has traditionally relied on peer assessments and federal and school-supplied data in their ranking formula.

According to the release issued by The Wall Street Journal, the WSJ/College Pulse ranking puts an emphasis on “two practical and measurable questions about each school: How much will the college improve the students’ chances of graduating on time, and how much will it improve the salaries they earn after receiving their diplomas?”

The ranking also surveyed more than 60,000 students and recent graduates earlier this year, capturing “a range of perspectives on student life, including perception of learning opportunities, career preparation…and students’ thoughts on diversity.”

Overall, Princeton University placed first in the 2024 survey, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, and Harvard universities.  

Within Massachusetts, Boston College placed sixth overall behind MIT, Harvard, Amherst College (eighth nationally), Babson College (tenth), and Williams College (31st), and ahead of the College of the Holy Cross (60th), Northeastern University (138th), Boston University (200th), Brandeis University (223rd), and Tufts University (287th).

Additional information on the rankings is available at wsj.com/collegerankings.