Boston College earns five-star rating in “Money” 2024 Best Colleges

Money, the half-century-old personal finance guide, has awarded Boston College a five-star rating, the highest tier in its “Best Colleges in America” list published on June 12.

BC was one of just 55 schools selected in the elite category, including all eight Ivy League universities, Duke, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Northwestern, Stanford, UC-Berkeley, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and the University of Notre Dame. Georgetown was the only other Jesuit university to garner a top spot.

Earlier this spring, Boston College was named among Forbes' "New Ivies," a cohort of ascendent public and private universities emerging as the academic institutions employers rely on for new hires.

Money's analysis of the country's top 745 four-year colleges (out of the more than 2,400 U.S. public and private institutions of higher education) is based on graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid, alumni salaries and more. Star ratings, introduced in 2022, replaced longtime numerical rankings; a five-star evaluation is defined as “scoring exceptionally high on most of its metrics.”

According to the researchers, following the initial cut, the remaining top-tier universities were assessed based on 25 factors in three categories: quality of education (30 percent), affordability (40 percent), and outcomes (30 percent).  Finally, they were clustered by one of seven possible ratings, ranging from two to five stars.

When Money switched from the numerical to the star rating scheme, it explained that the new system recognized that there are numerous ways for a school to provide value, and multiple “best” colleges,” depending on a student’s goals and priorities. As an example, it cited that in 2022, the 34 colleges that earned a five-star rating included public universities, Ivy League schools, liberal arts colleges, a work college and a maritime academy.

To read more about the Money 2024 rankings, visit the Best Colleges in America website.