USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2008

Liberal Arts Colleges

The nation's 266 liberal arts colleges emphasize undergraduate education and award at least 50 percent of their degrees in the arts and sciences. Most are private institutions, but 27 are public; the top publics are listed below.

Top Schools:

The top 50 percent of schools in this category, ranked numerically

Tier 3 Schools:

The next 25 percent of schools in this category, listed alphabetically

Tier 4 Schools:

The bottom 25 percent of schools in this category, listed alphabetically

Unranked Schools:

The schools in this category have not been ranked, listed alphabetically

Best Values:

Schools that are above average academically and cost significantly less than many when the financial aid, in the form of need-based grants that they dispense, is taken into account

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