College of the Ozarks receives Niche and Money rankings for the 2024-2025 academic year

POINT LOOKOUT, MO — College of the Ozarks has received new rankings from Niche and Money, for the 2024-2025 academic year. Niche ranks schools and colleges so students and families can find the right fit for their individual wants and needs. Money Magazine showcases the country's top 745 colleges based on graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid, alumni salaries, and more.

College of the Ozarks received the following rankings from Niche: the No. 1 ranking for Best Christian College in Missouri and the No. 6 ranking for Best Christian Colleges in America. Additionally, the College received the No. 2 ranking for Best Small Colleges in Missouri, the No. 3 ranking for Top Private University in Missouri, the No. 5 ranking for Best Value Colleges in Missouri, the No. 6 ranking for Colleges with the Best Academics in Missouri, and the No. 7 ranking for Best Colleges in Missouri.

College of the Ozarks was recognized as One of America’s Best Colleges by Money. Out of 2,400 private and public colleges from around the country, only 745 made it onto the exclusive list.

“At College of the Ozarks, we are proud to be recognized by Money as One of America’s Best Colleges, highlighting our commitment to exceptional education at an incredible value.” Dr. Brad Johnson, College of the Ozarks president said.

“Additionally, our rankings from Niche as the No. 6 Best Christian College in America, No. 1 Best Christian College in Missouri, No. 2 Best Small College in America, and No. 3 Top Private University in Missouri reflect our dedication to a Christ-centered education and vocational training. We believe true success goes beyond financial measures; it lies in the character and service we foster in our students.”

Niche Methodology

Niche selects each ranking's factors to represent a healthy balance between statistical rigor and practical relevance in the rankings. After each factor was processed, a standardized score was produced for each factor at each college. This score evaluated distance from the average using standard deviations and allows each college’s score to be compared against others in a statistically sound manner. With clean and comparable data, weights were assigned for each factor. The goal of the weighting process was to ensure that no one factor could have a dramatic positive or negative impact on a particular school’s final score and that each school’s final score was a fair representation of the school’s performance.

To view Niche 2025 rankings, visit https://www.niche.com/colleges/college-of-the-ozarks/

To view full methodology, visit https://www.niche.com/colleges/rankings/methodology/

Money Methodology

The methodology for Money started with all of the four-year public and private nonprofit colleges in the country, a group that totals more than 2,400. To make the initial cut, a college had to have at least 500 undergraduate students or 150 freshmen, have sufficient, reliable data to be analyzed, not be in financial distress, have a graduation rate that was at or above the median for its institutional category (public, private or historically black college or university), or have a high “value-added” graduation rate (in other words: score in the top 25% of graduation rates after accounting for the student body). A total of 745 schools met the requirements in the initial cut. Colleges were ranked on 25 factors in three categories: quality of education (30% of weighting), affordability (40% of weighting), and outcomes (30% of weighting).

To view Money 2024 rankings, visit https://money.com/best-colleges/

To view the full methodology, visit https://money.com/best-colleges/methodology/

For additional information, contact Public Relations Director Valorie Coleman at (417) 690-2212.

About College of the Ozarks

College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian, liberal arts college, located in Point Lookout, Missouri, on a 1,000-acre campus. Christian values, hard work, and financial responsibility comprise the fundamental building blocks of the “Hard Work U.” experience. The College earns numerous accolades yearly, including No. 2 Best Performers on Social Mobility-Regional Colleges in the Midwest and No. 4 Best Regional College in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report for 2024-2025 and No. 3 Best Bang for the Buck by Washington Monthly, 2024. To achieve its vision, the College pursues academic, vocational, Christian, patriotic, and cultural goals. These goals are mirrored in School of the Ozarks, a laboratory school that completes the K-college model.

The Keeter Center — the College’s award-winning lodge, restaurant, and conference facility — earns awards consistently, including the TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Award 2024 and the Best of the Best and Readers’ Choice Awards 2023 from ConventionSouth magazine. The Keeter Center features historic lodging, fine dining, and meeting rooms. With more than 350 student workers, it is the largest workstation on campus. Follow College of the Ozarks on Facebook at www.facebook.com/collegeoftheozarks, on Instagram, @collegeoftheozarks, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/school/college-of-the-ozarks/, or on X,  @CofOHardWorkU.