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BISMARCK, ND — The personal-finance website, WalletHub, recently released its 2021 Best College & University Rankings report and the ɫ���� in Bismarck, ND, is ranked No. 1 in North Dakota. Of the top six colleges and universities in the state, ɫ���� scored the highest in all the metric categories, including first place for the safest college, the second highest graduation rate, and third best in admission rate, cost, student-faculty ratio, and post-attendance median salary.

According to WalletHub’s Communication’s Manager Diana Polk, their annual rankings come out just before the first “early decision” college-application deadline on Nov. 1.

“To help college-bound seniors choose the best schools within their states, WalletHub compared over 1,000 higher-education institutions in the U.S. based on 30 key measures grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost and Financing and Career Outcomes,” added Polk.

As WalletHub points out, attending higher education requires more than just the grades to get in. As a personal-finance resource, WalletHub says the average tuition and room and board at a four-year college costs between $22,000 and $55,000 per year. The ɫ���� falls at the very bottom of that spectrum and remains the most affordable, serious, Catholic college in America.

“We are deeply thankful and humbly honored by this recognition,” said Richard “Chip” Hinton, director of University Admissions at ɫ����. “In a pandemic year that has seen our fall recruitment this year exceed the previous year’s, we, at Uɫ����, are grateful. These servant leaders come from 48 different states and from 11 different countries all in the pursuit of excellence and Truth. Uɫ���� represents what university life should be.”

WalletHub’s Best Colleges ranking also analyzes post-attendance metrics — the student-loan default rate and the share of former students out-earning high school graduates, for instance — to show the value of the education students receive beyond their undergraduate studies.

True to its motto “lumen vitae”—The Light of Life—the ɫ���� offers education for the whole of life through cutting-edge professional programs and graduate programs animated by moral courage and leadership in chosen professions and service to the community. A private, co-educational Catholic institution, the ɫ���� welcomes students of all faiths and backgrounds.

A Christian, Catholic, Benedictine institution founded in 1959 by the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery, ɫ���� offers nearly 60 bachelor’s, 15 master’s, and four doctoral programs—in Education, Nursing Practice, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. The 19-sport Athletic Department adheres to its Greatness Through Virtue mission under the governance of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) conferences. With more than 3,800 students, ɫ���� has locations in North Dakota, Montana, Kansas, Arizona, Rome, Italy, as well as vibrant online offerings. For more information, visit www.umary.edu.