Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) earned the 24th spot among the Best Baccalaureate Colleges — Midwest in the 2009 edition of America’s Best Colleges by U.S.News & World Report, one of the nation’s leading sources of service journalism and news. The exclusive rankings are available online at www.usnews.com/colleges, and they will be published in the magazine’s September 1 issue, on newsstands Monday, August 25.

Among the 48 top-ranked Midwest colleges, SMWC was also recognized for having the highest percentage of classes under 20; ninety-five percent of classes at SMWC have fewer than 20 students. SMWC is also proud to be one of only two institutions in the Best Baccalaureate Colleges — Midwest category where 99 percent of faculty members have full-time status.

“These rankings are indicators of our progress as we work toward our strategic goals and evidence of the dedication that the entire SMWC community has to our mission of providing students with quality academic programs,” said David G. Behrs, Ph.D., president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. "We have excellent faculty and staff and outstanding students and alums, and I thank them for all that they do to help us consistently achieve this distinction.”

Founded in 1840 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and the Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is the oldest Catholic liberal arts college for women in the United States. Today, SMWC thrives by offering a rich liberal arts education, scholarships and financial aid opportunities to make college affordable, individual attention, a value-centered education in a Catholic tradition, and a wide variety of student leadership activities. Both Princeton Review and U.S.News & World Report consistently rank SMWC as one of the Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the Midwest.

The College is committed to making private higher education affordable. Approximately 95% of campus-based undergraduate students at SMWC receive academic or need-based financial aid. In addition, the College has partnered with Ivy Tech Community College to provide Ivy Tech graduates with transfer grants that can be applied towards the cost of tuition for SMWC’s undergraduate degree programs.

The U.S. News college rankings, which group schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, have expanded into a multimedia resource for students and parents considering higher education options. By providing timely, relevant, and useful information about the college selection process, the U.S. News Best Colleges package serves as a fundamental resource for those families facing one of the most challenging financial decisions.