University Ranked Among Nation’s Best Colleges in New Wall Street Journal Rankings

Montclair State University is ranked among the top universities in the nation in The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings, released by the publication September 6.

Montclair ranked No. 104 overall, ahead of notable private institutions including New York University, Boston University, and Northeastern University. It is also No. 37 among the 204 public universities ranked, ahead of The University of Texas at Austin, Penn State, and the University of Maryland. Montclair is rated the No. 4 university in New Jersey, ahead of Rutgers University and Seton Hall University.

The Wall Street Journal rankings are based largely on measures of student outcomes and the value of their investment.

Unlike conventional rankings which emphasize endowments, fundraising and other measures of the wealth of an institution, the outlet measured the extent to which a college boosts its graduates’ salaries beyond what they would be expected to earn regardless of what school they attended.

Those extra earnings were then compared against an institution’s average net price to determine how long it would take to pay back the cost of attending. In Montclair’s case, the salary boost for typical graduates repays them for the cost of attending in just one year and 10 months.

This is particularly powerful given the diversity and background of Montclair’s student population. Nearly half of Montclair’s students are on track to become the first college graduate in their family and 48% are eligible for Pell Grants. The combination of high-quality programs, diverse student population and stellar outcomes is distinctive, particularly in this region. Indeed, among the institutions ranked by The Wall Street Journal, Montclair is the only Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) east of Chicago and north of Florida to be ranked.

As a result, Montclair State University ranks No. 16 in the nation in social mobility, which highlights institutions that serve the highest proportion of students from lower-income families while maintaining high graduation rates and a positive impact on graduate salaries all while minimizing the cost of attendance.

The results are the latest indicator of not only Montclair’s rising national profile, but also of its commitment to student success.

“The notion that an institution can not be both accessible and excellent is simply untrue, and Montclair State University is proving that,” says Montclair President Jonathan Koppell. “We are achieving life-changing outcomes for a highly diverse student body without compromising rigor or quality. These rankings are the latest testament that ours is an educational model that truly serves the public good.”

For more information on The Wall Street Journal’s 2024 America’s Best Colleges Rankings, visit wsj.com/rankings/college-rankings/best-colleges-2024.