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VMI Receives 4.5 Stars in Money Magazine Best Colleges List

cadets walking on the VMI parade ground, old barracks in the background

Out of more than 730 colleges, Virginia Military Institute was rated a 4.5-star college in Money magazine’s Best Colleges in America list for 2023.—VMI Photo by Kelly Nye.

Virginia Military Institute was rated a 4.5-star college in Money magazine’s Best Colleges in America list for 2023. Using a new system this year, Money assigns colleges a rating on a five-star scale, with five stars being the best.

More than 730 colleges were scored based on 26 factors in three main categories: Quality, which looks at the six-year graduation rate; affordability, which looks at both short- and long-term affordability, the net price of a degree, and the amount students typically borrow through federal programs; and outcomes, which is based on earnings and employment data 10 years after enrolling in the school.

VMI also appears on this year’s Best Public Colleges and Best Colleges in the South sublists. Money reports that in early career earnings, VMI graduates have median salaries of $77,000.

Previously, Money magazine had a numbered ranking, and VMI came in at No. 5 overall out of the more than 620 colleges ranked on Money magazine’s 2022 Best Colleges in America list.

The full Best Colleges list, along with the methodology and additional sublists, can be found at money.com/bestcolleges.

For more information on how to apply to VMI, click here.