U.S. News & World Report once again rated Midwestern State University as one of its Top Performers for Social Mobility in its 2021 “Best Colleges” rankings.

MSU Texas is ranked 28th for Top Performers on Social Mobility. The social mobility category is an enhancement to the rankings to provide greater emphasis on outcomes for low-income and first-generation students.

The best college recognition is symbolic of the recent efforts by the University’s staff, faculty, and leadership to provide programming to support the needs of first-generation students, many from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually. In Fall 2019, 39% of full-time undergraduate students at MSU Texas received Pell Grants, up from 34% in 2018.

“We are proud to celebrate this distinction for MSU Texas,” said President Suzanne Shipley. “Studies show that economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college. Through our emphasis on student success programs such as Mustangs Guarantee, The Priddy Scholars Program and First Gen Forward, we’re able to help our students persist to graduation, providing the path to gainful employment or advanced studies.”

The methodology used for social mobility rankings measures how well universities graduated students who received federal Pell Grants. Pell Grant graduation rates are the six-year graduation rates of Pell Grant students adjusted to give more credit to schools with larger Pell student proportions. The full methodology is available at U.S. News & World Report.

MSU Texas is ranked No. 75 overall in Regional Universities West and is ranked No. 35 in Top Public Schools.