The Wall Street Journal published an article naming Colgate University as the top liberal arts college in the northeast in its Wall Street Journal/College Pulse ranking of top colleges on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Swarthmore College and Lafayette College followed. WSJ ranks Colgate 25th among all colleges nationwide, while Swarthmore came in 35th and Lafayette 58th. Colgate was also ranked number ten on WSJ’s top ten private colleges in the northeast, eighth of northeast’s top midsize colleges and second among all New York state institutions.
The WSJ ranks colleges by how well graduates are set up for financial success after graduating.
“We don’t measure reputation, nor the college’s own finances,” the article stated.
President Brian W. Casey celebrated the news in a reel posted to Instagram.
“Well, this is nice,” Casey wrote in the caption of the post.
In the 2025 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking that came out on Sep. 24, Colgate sits at 22nd for Best Liberal Arts Colleges, tied with the University of Richmond and below Swarthmore at 3rd and above Lafayette at 31st. Colgate also sits at 15th in the U.S. News Best Value Schools.
