Bethany ranked among nation’s best colleges for social mobility

Bethany Lutheran College has been ranked No. 25 for Social Mobility by U.S. News & World Report in their 2025 college rankings edition. Social mobility refers to the ability of a person to move upward in income and social class. The high ranking indicates that Bethany is doing a good job educating students from a variety of academic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Now in its 40th year, the U.S. News rankings evaluate nearly 1,500 national colleges and universities on up to 17 measures of academic quality and place an emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduating college students. U.S. News ranks schools in four categories – National Liberal Arts Colleges, National Universities, Regional Colleges, and Regional Universities. Bethany is ranked in the National Liberal Arts classification.

Bethany President Dr. Gene Pfeifer remarked, “Bethany Lutheran College strives to offer a student-focused education. We’ve always centered our education on personal mentoring for our students, and now for several years, Bethany has maintained a high national ranking for the social mobility of our graduates, and we’re certainly proud of this recognition.”

U.S. News publishes the Best Colleges rankings each year to provide prospective students and their families with the comparative merits of the undergraduate programs at America’s colleges and universities. The rankings offer detailed information of the institutions and data on factors such as outcome measures — including graduation rates, graduate indebtedness and post-graduate earnings.

“For 40 years, Best Colleges has continued to evolve as a trusted companion to prospective students and their families during the decision-making process,” said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor for Education at U.S. News. “The rankings and editorial content offer crucial data as well as college advice and informed reporting to all who seek a college education.”

Prospective students can see how Bethany Lutheran College compares to other institutions and how the rankings are calculated in the U.S. News’ Best Colleges publication and website at usnews.com.