Southwestern University Returns to the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse Best Colleges in the U.S. Rankings

News

Southwestern University Returns to the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse Best Colleges in the U.S. Rankings

Southwestern University is continuing to turn heads across the country. For the first time in four years, Southwestern has been ranked by the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse as one of the “Best Colleges in the U.S.” SU checks in at #351 in the country on the 2026 edition of the prestigious rankings list.

Southwestern earned the rank of #2 among private, liberal arts institutions in Texas, and is the sixth-ranked overall private school in the Lone Star State. In addition to their national rankings, the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse also tabbed Southwestern as #149 in the country for “Best Student Experience,” a list of the best colleges in the U.S. to have a great experience while attending.

In their 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. list, the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse, a research firm dedicated to measuring college student experiences, ranked the top 584 eligible universities in the country. The Wall Street Journal and College Pulse conducted one of the largest independent surveys of college students ever in the U.S., with around 120,000 undergraduates offering their view on topics like career preparation, learning opportunities, and campus life. The rankings were determined using three primary components: student outcomes, learning environments, and diversity.

Making up over 70% of each institution’s overall score, the student outcomes category measures salary impact, years to pay off net price, and graduation rate. The salary impact portion measures the extent to which Southwestern boosts its graduates’ salaries beyond what they would be expected to earn regardless of which college they attended.

The learning environment category — composing 20% of the overall score — includes measures of learning opportunities, preparation for career, learning facilities, and recommendation scores.

The final 10% of each school’s ranking measures ethnic diversity, inclusion of students with lower family earnings, and inclusion of students with disabilities. Southwestern earned high marks in the diversity category, scoring 83 out of 100 possible points.

The full rankings list and methodology are available via the Wall Street Journal.

Related Content

Related:

• U.S. News & World Report Ranks Southwestern University Among the Nation’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges
• The Princeton Review Recognizes Southwestern University as One of the Nation’s Best Colleges for 2026