Southern Miss Ranked Among Nations Most Popular Universities

The University of Southern Mississippi outranks all other state universities in popularity, according to a recent analysis conducted by U.S. News & World Report.

In the magazine's ranking of more than 250 national universities, Southern Miss occupies the No. 43 spot, while Mississippi State comes in at No. 65 and Ole Miss resides at No. 127.

“This recognition affirms our belief that if we can get a student to visit and really come to know Southern Miss, they will then feel excited and compelled to enroll,” said Dr. Joe Paul, vice president for Student Affairs at Southern Miss. “Southern miss is a dynamic place where great things are happening. Great students are discovering this and helping us recruit others.”

The report notes that of the best indicators of a school's popularity among students is the school's yield -- the percentage of applicants accepted by a college who end up enrolling at that institution in the fall. The figures represented in the rankings are from the fall 2010 entering class and show the students that were accepted, the students that enrolled, and the admit yield.

The fall 2010 figures show that Southern Miss had 3,279 students accepted with a first-year enrollment of 1,591 for a yield of 48.5 percent. Harvard University holds the No. 1 spot with 2,205 accepted; 1,664 enrolled for a 75.5 percent yield.

The study points out that in some cases a school's yield has been impacted because it has either an early decision or early action plan where the yield typically approaches 100 percent for students admitted under those plans.

To see the complete rankings, visit: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/01/24/the-most-popular-national-universities