How Minnesota fared in the U.S. News college rankings

It's that time of year again, and here's where Minnesota colleges and universities place in this year's U.S. News & World Report college rankings.

As I've mentioned in years past, those rankings -- as unfair, incomplete and possibly inaccurate as they are -- are what a lot of colleges and higher-ed experts love to hate. But they're always a topic of conversation, and around this time each year, colleges toot their own horns if they've done well.

(Update: Even as Hamline University President Linda Hanson expressed pride in Hamline's placing, she cautioned, "I always tell parents and students that the rankings are just one reference source for learning about their options when it comes to making this important decision.")

Also, the idea of ratings has taken hold in the federal government with last month's announcement by the President Obama that his administration wants to set up its own system to help parents find colleges with the best value. That has drawn its own criticism.

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So for better or worse, here's how things look this year by category:

Best National Universities

#69 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (#25 on Top 30 Public National Universities)

#112 University of St. Thomas

#173 St. Mary's University of Minnesota

Best National Liberal Arts Colleges

#7 Carleton College

#24 Macalester College

#52 St. Olaf College

#76 (Tied) Gustavus Adolphus College

#76 (Tied) St. John's University

#94 College of St. Benedict

#138 Concordia College - Moorhead

#154 University of Minnesota - Morris (#8 on Top 10 Public Colleges)

Second-Tier Schools (#183-240, listed alphabetically)

Bethany Lutheran College

Best Regional Universities (Midwest)

#11 Hamline University

#13 St. Catherine University

#21 Bethel University

#26 Augsburg College

#33 College of St. Scholastica

#42 University of Minnesota - Duluth (#9 on Top Public Regional Universities - Midwest)

#65 Winona State University

#75 Minnesota State University - Mankato

#83 St. Cloud State University

#92 (Tied) Bemidji State University

#92 (Tied) Concordia University - St. Paul

#108 Minnesota State University - Moorhead

Second-Tier Schools (#111-147 listed alphabetically)

Metropolitan State University

Best Regional Colleges (Midwest)

#13 University of Northwestern - St. Paul

#38 University of Minnesota - Crookston (#1 on Top Public Regional Colleges - Midwest)

#40 Martin Luther College

#58 Crown College

#61 Dunwoody College of Technology

#71 North Central University

Best Value Schools / Great Schools at Great Prices

National Liberal Arts Colleges

#15 Macalester College

#27 Carleton College

#36 St. Olaf College

Regional Universities (Midwest)

#10 Hamline University

#14 St. Catherine University

A-Plus Schools for B Students (Listed alphabetically)

National Universities:

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

University of St. Thomas

National Liberal Arts Colleges

College of St. Benedict

Concordia College - Moorhead

Gustavus Adolphus College

St. John's University

University of Minnesota - Morris

Regional Universities (Midwest)

Augsburg College

Bethel University

College of St. Scholastica

Hamline University

St. Catherine University

University of Minnesota - Duluth

Regional Colleges

University of Northwestern - St. Paul

(Note: This was a big data dump. Have I missed or misread anything? Feel free to chime in.)