Washington Monthly has ranked Metro State University Number 66 out of more than 1,500 colleges nationwide in its 2026 Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars ranking. Set up initially in 2005 as a counterpoint to U.S. News & World Report's college rankings, Washington Monthly's rankings place schools based on their contribution to the public good in four broad categories: access, affordability, outcomes, and promoting public service.
These categories are examined based on a number of factors, as Washington Monthly describes their criteria:
ACCESS: Ranks colleges by how well they provide access to nonwealthy students. Among other metrics, it tracks how many students are on federal Pell Grants for low-to-middle-income families and compares that to how many Pell recipients those schools might be expected to enroll based on test scores, admission rates, and statewide family income.
AFFORDABILITY: Ranks colleges by their affordability. It includes the net price of the institution, or the amount that students with family incomes below $75,000 pay, minus aid. It also tracks how much debt graduates leave with.
OUTCOMES: Ranks colleges by the academic and financial outcomes they provide to students. It tracks the percentage of students graduating within eight years and compares that to statistical predictions. It compares graduation rates between wealthy and nonwealthy students. It also tracks the incomes that students make in their early careers and compares that to their peers’ early-career incomes. Additionally, the outcomes category ranks colleges by the numbers of graduates who go on to receive PhDs.
SERVICE: Ranks how well colleges do in promoting public service. It tracks numbers of graduates who enter AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, of ROTC cadets on campus, and of students who enroll in service-oriented majors like social work. Among other statistics, it also tracks colleges’ commitment to encouraging voting participation.
Recognitions like this are evidence that the hard work and determination of our institution, and the staff, faculty, and administrators who work here, to live into its mission, vision and values have concrete, measurable impacts on the lives of our students and the communities that both support them and that they will in turn support.