SUNY-ESF has climbed to an all-time high in the U.S. News and World Report college rankings.

U.S. News and World Report ranked the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry No. 30 in the nation’s top public universities for the 2015 edition of U.S. News’ Best Colleges.

SUNY-ESF also earned the No. 45 spot in the “Great Schools, Great Prices” category, which calculates the best-value schools in the nation. SUNY-ESF is the only SUNY campus listed among 50 schools selected for this recognition, according to a SUNY-ESF press release.

“Rankings mean a lot for any school, but they are especially important for a small college like ESF,” said Robert French, SUNY-ESF vice president for enrollment management and marketing, in an email. “We are by far the smallest school on the National Public Universities list this year, so we don’t have the broad name recognition that comes from being a bigger university.”

French said the higher rankings the school achieved this year were primarily due to improvements in the rating component tied to graduation rate — which has been rising steadily — and the college reputation rating that is based on a U.S. News survey of peer institutions.

Students at SUNY-ESF echoed the same sentiments — the university has been thriving for years and is finally getting recognized for it.

“It’s a big deal, it’s a very prestigious school and it’s specialized so it’s tough to get into. It’s cool that it’s being recognized as top 30. It’s finally getting some press,” said Bridget Snover, a sophomore landscaping architecture major.

There have been some changes implemented lately that may account for the newfound recognition, French said. The college recently renovated Centennial Hall, which the Princeton Review ranked among the 20 best college residence halls, as well as added the new Gateway Center.

SUNY-ESF has recently added popular new majors in Sustainable Energy Management and Environmental Health, as well as a Mighty Oaks intercollegiate athletics program just four years ago, which has grown since its installment, he added.

“I would say for the most part our recognition has come from having great faculty, strong research programs aimed at solving environmental problems and other factors that have been important to ESF’s success for a long time — and those factors would include our long standing partnership with Syracuse University,” French said.

Snover added that reaction to the recognition has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I think it means that my resume becomes stronger,” she said “They’ll realize that it’s not an easy college to get into and it’s not an easy college to stay in or excel in.”

French noted that while these are the highest rankings SUNY-ESF has received, they are by no means a surprise.

“ESF was ranked No. 77 on the National Universities list just two years ago,” French said, “and we have done well in the rankings for many years now.”

For Snover, the rankings reflect her experience on campus.

“For the future, I think for anyone that goes here — it just helps you a lot,” Snover said. “You learn a lot. It’s not easy but you’ll definitely get your money’s worth by going here.”

Published on September 16, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Anjali: acalwis@syr.edu