U.S. News & World Report has once again rated Potsdam and Canton’s two private institutions of higher learning as among the country's best institutions for undergraduate education.

The magazine chose only 251 colleges and universities for its annual list of national liberal arts institutions.

St. Lawrence University is number 56 on the list, placing it in the top 20 percent of its peer group, with improved measures in academic reputation, first-year student retention and scores on standardized tests reported.

Clarkson University is also in the top tier of national universities, with a ranking of 115, up four places from last year's ranking.

St. Lawrence was included once again on the magazine's list of "A+ Schools for B Students," where student engagement and individuality are considered as part of the admissions process, as well as scholastic achievement. The survey editors also placed Clarkson on that list, where they "identify those where nonsuperstars have a decent shot at being accepted and thriving -- where spirit and hard work could make all the difference in admissions offices."

Clarkson is 34 on the "Great Schools at Great Prices" list (Best Value Schools), which takes into account a school's academic quality and the 2011-2012 net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid.

The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal. Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included, because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically.

Clarkson's Supply Chain Management program was listed among the 20 best in the nation for the 11th consecutive year, ranked number 16 in Supply Chain Management/Logistics. Clarkson is among five private institutions in the ranking, which also includes MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Marquette, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Clarkson's undergraduate engineering program, ranked at 85 for Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs whose highest degree is a doctorate, has also been consistently listed among the top in the nation.

Last year's average starting salary for all Clarkson graduates was $52,849, and one in five alumni is already a CEO or senior executive.

Clarkson notes that it is in good company in the top tier undergraduate rankings as well as the Best Value Schools category, which it shares with schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Cal Tech and Duke.

The 2013 rankings, which include fewer than half of all colleges in the nation, are available at www.usnews.com/colleges, and will also be published in the September issue of the magazine.

The U.S. News & World Report ranking is the most recent in a series of publications giving high ratings and rankings to SLU. The Fiske Guide to Colleges, which selects only 300 four-year colleges in the United States, Canada and Great Britain to profile, cited St. Lawrence as "a school on the rise." The Princeton Review recommended the University as one of 220 institutions that are the "Best in the Northeast." Sierra magazine chose only 96 institutions for its "cool schools" listing of colleges demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, and included St. Lawrence. The University is also on Forbes magazine's list of "America's Top Colleges," which "focuses on educational outcomes, not reputations."