TWU moves into top 10 in U.S. News Best Colleges Ranking

Tennessee Wesleyan University moved up five spots to #10 out of 131 institutions reviewed in the Best Regional Colleges South category according to a recent report by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News & World Report released the 2025 Best Colleges rankings to the public, including Tennessee Wesleyan University’s rankings, on Tuesday. Tennessee Wesleyan is also the highest ranked Tennessee school on the list and one of only three in the top fifty.

Tennessee Wesleyan University earned multiple spots on the list of 2025 Best Colleges because of its high rankings. The rankings are based on in-depth analyses of a wide variety of data points, as explained in the Best Colleges methodology article. Among the areas in the 2025 Best Regional Colleges South that TWU ranked were:
• Overall Rank #10
• Best Value #18
• Social Mobility #35

“We’re excited to move into the top ten in the rankings provided by U.S. News and World Report each year,” said Dr. Tyler Forrest, TWU President. “These rankings confirm our exceptional reputation for excellence and affordability in the Southeast United States.”

Many of TWU’s improvements were in areas that students and faculty deem important, for instance smaller class sizes. Eighty percent of classes at TWU have fewer than twenty students, providing for much more submissive and engaging learning interactions. No TWU class has more than fifty students. The calculation used to determine TWU’s Best Value ranking considers the school's academic quality, as indicated by its 2025 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, and the 2022-2023 net cost of attendance for an out-of-state student who received the average level of need-based financial aid.

The report also revealed that Tennessee Wesleyan University has done well in the area of social mobility, ranking 35th among top performers. Social mobility is described as how well schools graduated economically disadvantaged students. Now in its 40th year, the rankings evaluate nearly 1,500 national colleges and universities on up to seventeen measures of academic quality and place emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduating college students.

Students interested in learning more about Tennessee Wesleyan University are invited to the Fall Open House, October 3 or can schedule an individual or group tour at any time. Tennessee Wesleyan University, founded in Athens, Tennessee, in 1857, is a four-year liberal arts institution affiliated with the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church offering more than sixty undergraduate and graduate majors and minors. Through strong academic programs, service-learning opportunities, student organizations, and athletics, Tennessee Wesleyan University is transforming the lives of nearly 1,200 students to become enlightened servant leaders who believe in serving others, pursuing knowledge, and leading by example. Visit tnwesleyan.edu or follow @tnwesleyan on many social media platforms to learn more.