University Times

A comparison of select Pennsylvania institutions from data in U.S. News and World Report’s 2006 “best colleges” edition:

• Acceptance rate: Pitt accepted 49 percent (up from 46 percent in last year’s U.S. News data) of its applicants for fall 2004’s entering class (of 18,973 total applicants); Penn State, 58 percent (30,122 applicants); Carnegie Mellon, 42 percent (14,114 applicants); Temple, 63 percent (16,681 applicants); the University of Pennsylvania, 21 percent (18,282 applicants); Lehigh University, 38 percent (9,847 applicants).

(The most selective institution nationally was Yale with a 10 percent acceptance rate.)

• Student to faculty ratio: Pitt, 15:1; Penn State, 17:1; CMU, 10:1; Temple, 17:1; Penn, 6:1; Lehigh, 19:1.

• The average six-year graduation rate: Pitt graduated 67 percent of its 1998 entering students within six years (up from 66 percent of 1997 entering students); Penn State, 84 percent; CMU, 85 percent; Temple, 53 percent; Penn, 94 percent; Lehigh, 84 percent.

(The top spot was held by Harvard at 98 percent.)

• Pitt’s retention rate of fall 2004 entering freshmen: 88 percent (up from 87 percent in 2003 data), compared to Penn State’s 92 percent, CMU’s 94 percent, Temple’s 82 percent, Penn’s 98 percent and Lehigh’s 93 percent.

• Pitt’s percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students is 43 percent (42 percent using 2003 data); Penn State’s is 30 percent, CMU’s is 68 percent, Temple’s is 38 percent, Penn’s is 75 percent and Lehigh’s is 63 percent.

• Pitt’s percentage of classes with 50 or more students is 16 percent (down from 17 percent using 2003 data), while Penn State’s is 19 percent, Carnegie Mellon’s is 9 percent, Temple’s is 8 percent, Penn’s is 7 percent and Lehigh’s is 6 percent.

• Pitt’s percentage of students receiving need-based grants is 36 percent (same as last year’s); Penn State’s is 29 percent, Carnegie Mellon’s is 48 percent, Temple’s is 70 percent, Penn’s is 42 percent and Lehigh’s is 43 percent.

• The Pitt alumni giving rate is 16 percent (same as 2003, according to U.S. News); Penn State’s giving rate is 20 percent, Carnegie Mellon’s is 26 percent, Temple’s is 9 percent, Penn’s is 40 percent and Lehigh’s is 41 percent.

—Peter Hart