The Washington Monthly ranked the University of Wisconsin-Madison as the number one public university in the country in a study released this past August.
Washington Monthly is a nonprofit newspaper organization committed to “telling fascinating, deeply reported stories about the ideas and characters that animate America’s government,” according to their website.
Colleges are ranked by what they do for the country — the organization believes this is a more accurate representation of colleges than the “crude and easily manipulated measures of wealth, exclusivity, and prestige” of other ranking companies.
Washington Monthly ranks in three categories: social mobility, research, and promotion of public service. UW-Madison placed 42nd in social mobility, 18th in research, and 7th in public service. Washington Monthly also ranks based on Best Bang for the Buck. This past year, UW-Madison ranked 12th in the Midwest.
UW-Madison works to assist students with tuition with hundreds of scholarships available from donors, according to UW’s Office of Financial Aid. The university has the Pell Grant, a source of financial aid provided by the federal government that does not have to be repaid. The university also offers its own Bucky’s Pell Pathway, which provides students with a plan to complete a degree in four years without taking on debt and loans.
“Public universities have a mission to provide an education both inside and outside of the classroom so that our students become more active, thoughtful, and well-rounded citizens of the world,” UW-Madison Provost Charles Lee Isbell Jr. told the Daily Cardinal. “While no single ranking tells the entire story, I’m pleased that Washington Monthly rankings value the Wisconsin Experience we provide to students.”
