Vaccine Required or Optional? College Raptor’s 2022 Rankings Reflect New Priorities

College Raptor’s publishes its 7th annual Best Colleges rankings! Notable high ranking schools include the United States Naval Academy as the #1 Vaccine-Optional College, Princeton as the #1 Best College in the US, and CalTech as the #1 Small College. 

College Raptor Releases 2022 Best College Rankings

Are COVID-19 vaccinations required at your favorite college? What about college entrance exams? Choosing a college has become even more complicated recently. With its new 2022 Best Colleges Rankings, College Raptor helps sort through the confusion to give families peace of mind about college choices.

One trend in college admissions is the decrease of ACT or SAT requirements. Given the pandemic complications and concerns about equity, many colleges are electing not to require students to submit test scores. Because these scores have historically factored into college rankings, Raptor performed an extensive analysis of the impact that removing ACT and SAT results would have on its rankings, before deciding to retain the scores in its 2022 rankings. In short, because Raptor’s algorithms are so robust, removing test scores would have had only a minor impact on the overall rankings. Without the scores – among the top 50 colleges – most colleges would only shift one or two spots in their rankings: Princeton, Harvard, and MIT would all hold onto their top 3 spots without change.

In addition to the overall ranking list, College Raptor introduced four new categories. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate headlines, Raptor gathered the Top 25 Best Vaccine-Optional and Vaccine-Required Colleges. Private colleges get a lot of attention in college rankings, but researching all available education opportunities is at the forefront of everything Raptor does, so one list highlights the very best State Colleges in the country for students to consider. Raptor also created the Top 25 Veteran-Friendly Colleges to showcase schools doing everything they can to support students who have served in the military. 

“Higher education constantly changes, but these past few years in particular have seen a lot of new challenges. Raptor is here to help students and families face those challenges and learn more about their options,” said Bill Staib, College Raptor’s CEO. “Raptor’s annual rankings serve as a great first step for the college search process. Then, our tools offer families a unique and holistic way to find quality, affordable schools.”

View the complete College Raptor 2022 Rankings at CollegeRaptor.com/best-colleges/

About College Raptor, Inc.

College Raptor® creates tools to help students, parents, counselors, and colleges resolve significant challenges in college planning. With its motto, “College Planning. Evolved,” Raptor is the only college search platform that enables students and families to discover quality, affordable college options based on personalized estimates of financial aid, scholarships, academic match, and acceptance odds at every 4-year college in the country. As a result, students and their families find cost-effective, academically-appropriate college options that prepare them for future careers. For more information about College Raptor, visit CollegeRaptor.com.

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