New York Times names Augustana top college for economic diversity

Augustana College ranked in the top 21% of The New York Times' list of U.S. schools with the greatest economic diversity, indicating that Augustana is accessible to students from a broad range of income levels.

Augustana was one of only nine private Illinois colleges to make the list, which ranks the most-selective universities according to Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges and other metrics. 

Augustana College was 24th among national liberal arts schools, and 61st overall among the 286 colleges on The New York Times’ College Access Index list. The index was last published in 2017 and originated in 2014.

According to The New York Times, the index measured economic diversity by analyzing the share of students receiving Federal Pell Grants. Pell Grant recipients are typically from families earning less than $50,000 annually. The maximum award in 2023-2024 is $7,395, and the award amount depends on a student’s financial need, costs to attend school, full- or part-time status and plans to attend school for a full academic year or less. 

Augustana is tied on this year’s index with University of Alaska, Fairbanks, with both schools recording 27% of incoming first-year students receiving Pell Grants. According to the index, Augustana saw a 2% increase in Pell recipients since 2011.

This year Augustana has more than 550 Pell Grant recipients, with the number of first-year and transfer recipients seeing a 39% year-over-year increase. Augustana’s Pell recipients include 30% of all domestic first-year students and 44% of domestic first-year students of color. 

Kent Barnds, executive vice president of external relations, said Augustana is committed to making a top-quality liberal arts education affordable to all students.

“It’s our mission to continue making strides to ensure achieving an Augustana education is accessible to every student,” he said. “Increasing numbers of Pell Grant recipients and the introduction of Augustana Possible are markers of success toward this goal.”

This is the inaugural year for Augustana Possible grants, which meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, using all available resources, for high-achieving students from families with lower incomes. Grants were issued to more than 180 first-year students this fall, more than double the original projections of awarding the grant to 75 first-year Augustana Possible students. 

Last year, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce recognized Augustana for being a good investment for low-income students. Augustana placed among the top 7% of 3,380 schools in the country for providing a high return on a college investment (ROI) to Pell Grant-eligible students. 

Augustana President Andrea Talentino said Augustana continues to be a place where students of all backgrounds can grow. 

“We are proud to be an institution that welcomes and empowers all students to learn and benefit from the rich liberal arts education delivered at Augustana,” President Talentino said. “We know we have the innovative programs and focus on vocational development to help students find their future at Augustana.”