U.S. News Names Canisius a "Best Value"

September 9, 2013

Buffalo, NY – Canisius University climbed to number seven on U.S. News & World Report’s “Great Schools at Great Prices” ranking among regional universities in the North. The 2014 ranking moves Canisius up one from the number eight position, which it held last year.

According to the ranking, 77 percent of Canisius undergraduate students received need-based grants in 2012. The average discount on the total cost of tuition was 45 percent.

U.S. News named only 15 regional universities in the North to its “best value” list. Canisius is one of four private colleges in Western New York to be included. U.S. News classifies regional universities as those that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs, and tend to draw students most heavily from surrounding states.

“A lot of the schools that are ranked in that top 15 are recruiting from this local market and the local market is price sensitive,” said Canisius President John J. Hurley. “It forces us to be very competitive on price and make more financial aid available.”

The methodology for the annual ranking by U.S. News & World Report takes into account three variables: (1) The ratio of academic quality to price (2) need-based aid and (3) the average discount.

The U.S. News & World Report ranking is the latest to highlight Canisius’ quality and affordability.

AffordableCollegesOnline.org (ACO) recently ranked Canisius a top university in New York State for return on investment. The online resource for higher education affordability and financial aid information analyzed New York State’s 472 colleges and universities and identified 84 institutions where graduates earn more, on average over their lifetimes, than graduates from other New York institutions. Canisius ranked 55 on the list. In a separate but similar ranking, ACO listed Canisius among the top 36 most affordable Roman Catholic colleges whose graduates earn high starting salaries. Forbes also named Canisius to its 2012 ranking of the 650 best undergraduate institutions for quality of teaching, great career prospects, graduation rates and low levels of debt.

Read more about the U.S. News rankings at The Buffalo News.

Canisius is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.