By Laura Acuff, Opinion Editor

U.S. News & World Report stationed ACU in the top tier of its “America’s Best Colleges” rankings list, which hit newsstands in Monday’s issue of the magazine.

Statistics, including graduation rate, faculty-student ratio and entrance exam scores determine rankings in conjunction with a peer assessment survey.

Specifically, ACU tied with Chapman University (Calif.) as the No. 1 “Up-and-Coming School” in the Universities-Master’s western region, placed 21st in quality for the western region and ranked 12th in its region for “Great Schools, Great Prices,” according to an ACU Web site press release.

Admissions counselor Krystina Bruner said she appreciates the professional acknowledgement U.S. News & World Report’s attention brings.

“I think it really reflects positively on just the efforts that we’re putting forth to make ACU a distinctive place and let people know what we’re really about, so I’m really excited that they’re finally giving us credit for the hard work that we put in over the past year,” Bruner said.

While the new Mobile Learning Initiative surely played a role in earning ACU acclaim in the national magazine, Bruner said she believes the credit truly belongs to the people behind the technology.

“It’s everyone on campus; I think the people here are what really make ACU distinctive,” Bruner said.

Jonathon Dobermecki, a prospective student from Georgetown who visited the ACU campus this week for Purple Monday, said he knew about U.S. News & World Report’s rankings, but they wouldn’t affect his decision as to whether or not he’d join the freshman class this fall.

Dobermecki’s top priority remains finding a “good Christian college,” and he said he wanted to visit the campus to verify firsthand the reputation ACU has both spiritually and academically.

“It looks like a really good school here,” Dobermecki said “I want to see it for myself. That’s why I came here to check it out. [Rankings are] a good thing to have, but I want to experience it myself.”