Pacific moves up in college rankings

The University of the Pacific ranked among the top 100 universities in the nation for the second year in a row and was one of the 50 "Great Schools at Great Prices" for the seventh year in a row, according to a report by U.S. News and World Report.

Pacific jumped to 96 in the U.S. News' ranking on the top colleges in the nation. Last year Pacific ranked 98.

U.S. News ranked colleges based on 15 categories such as graduation rates and peer evaluations.

One of the smallest universities to be ranked on U.S. News' list, 6,250 students currently attend one of Pacific's three campuses.

Other schools that ranked near Pacific included Auburn University, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of California at Riverside and University of Arizona.

University President Donald DeRosa said he was pleased that Pacific was recognized for its high-quality education, but cautioned against taking such rankings too seriously.

"Rankings such as these rely in part on subjective measures and do not consider all factors that reflect true academic distinctiveness," DeRosa said in a press release.

Pacific also ranked 42nd in U.S. News' "Great Schools at Great Prices" list.

The rankings for this list are based on the ratio of the quality of education to price of that education. U.S News also took into account the number of undergraduates receiving grants based on need.

Contact reporter Amanda Dyer at amandad@lodinews.com.