ODU RANKS 120TH IN WASHINGTON MONTHLY'S "THE COLLEGE GUIDE"

The College Guide of Washington Monthly Magazine, which rates institutions based on their record for good works as well as research, places Old Dominion University at 120 in a ranking of 242 major colleges and universities. This year's ranking is a jump from Old Dominion's place at 145 last year.

Among public institutions in Virginia, only the University of Virginia (20th), College of William and Mary (23rd) and Virginia Tech (35th) are ranked higher. George Mason University placed 198th and Virginia Commonwealth University 227th.

Washington Monthly includes the College Guide in its September issue.

"Unlike other college guides, such as U.S. News and World Report, this guide asks not what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country," the editors have noted.

Institutions are scored based on research spending, doctorates awarded and the percentage of undergraduates who go on to receive doctorates. But they also get scores based upon the number of students enrolled in ROTC programs, number of graduates who join the Peace Corps and other public/community service performed by students and alumni. Another score for social mobility attempts to track an institution's success at educating students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

Texas A&M ranks number one, while the University of California at Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and Pennsylvania State University round out the top five.