Historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, have been at the forefront of some negative attention lately. With news of hazing at Florida A&M and Morris Brown College experiencing financial woes, it’s good to see that some of our colleges have something worth cheering about.

In a new national ranking of the top 177 colleges and universities in the country, Morehouse and Spelman both ranked exceptionally well in multiple areas. In the overall ranking system, Morehouse ranked #53 and Spelman came in at #57, which were over other well known schools like UC Berkeley (#59) and Johns Hopkins (#100). Rankings were based on 15 equally weighted factors, which determined the outcomes of the colleges’ graduates, including the success graduates experienced in life and their careers.

The two schools were in the top 10 in the following categories:

• Friendship Development (Morehouse #1, Spelman #4)
• Preparation for Career Success (Morehouse #5, Spelman #6)
• Spiritual Development (Spelman #4, Morehouse #5)
• Social and skill development (Spelman and Morehouse tied for #3)

A few of the factors the schools didn’t score as well in, which affected their overall ranking, include highest percentage of millionaires and highest percentage of high income (household incomes of $150,000 annually or more). One reason is because many alumni of these schools go on into professions that don’t earn very high salaries, such as teaching.

These rankings were contingent upon alumni feedback by a project called The Alumni Factor, which aims to give an objective ranking system of colleges for prospective students and parents, as well as give alumni a voice in their college experience, and universities a source of real testimonials.