New survey ranks North Central College No. 8 among state’s colleges and universities

A new survey ranks North Central College No. 8 among all institutions of higher learning in Illinois.

On a list topped by the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, the 2015 Niche Rankings place North Central College No. 8 among 36 public and private four-year institutions in the state. Niche.com has been surveying college students for opinions for 12 years with its College Prowler website, though this is the first time it has ranked schools.

Survey respondents awarded North Central College high marks for athletics, which received a grade of A-minus and a national ranking of No. 92 among nearly 900 colleges and universities. North Central also received A-minus grades in the “Health and Safety” and “Local Area” categories.

In the “Safest Campus” category, North Central College was ranked No. 4 among 42 institutions in Illinois, consistent with other recent rankings that rate Naperville among the safest cities in the nation.

Niche says its rankings are based on more than 50 statistics and nearly 12 million ratings from 300,000 students. Statistics are drawn from various government and public data sets, and ratings came from opinion-based survey responses from students and recent alumni, according to the site's methodology. Weighted factors in the rankings include academics, student survey responses, quality of campus life, loan default rate, athletics and diversity.

Niche’s full description of North Central College may be viewed on its website. Visit colleges.niche.com to learn more.