44°
BRONXVILLE, N.Y. Concordia College has improved its ranking as one of the most diverse and best colleges in the North, in addition to welcoming its second-largest class in the past 25 years.
Concordia is now ranked 29th in U.S. News & World Report's 2013 North Regional Best Colleges, improving on its 2012 ranking of 42nd.
A big part of the college's success can be attributed to its faculty and staff, said Dean Sherry Fraser.
"First of all, we are very proud to be moving up in the rankings," Fraser said. "We constantly assess how we go about educating our students and how they are recruited to ensure a constant standard of academic excellence."
The same report ranked the college fifth in ethnic diversity, a category it had never placed in before. Overall enrollment increased by 5 percent in the past year in part due to the influx of students from across the country and around the world. Eighteen percent of new students in the class of 2016 are from out of state, and 19 percent are from other countries, including Korea, Spain, Finland and India.
Concordia takes great pride in attracting students from all over, Fraser said.
"Isn't it great that we're the only residential campus on the ethnic diversity list?" she said. "In the past 10 years we have been looking to attract students from across the country and abroad alike. International students find Concordia particularly appealing because of its location and size. Students feel like they can fit in better and that it's safer as well."
Mark Henningsen, 18, said it's great that everyone at Concordia is so cool about how diverse it is.
"My roommate was from China, and my friend's roommate was from Vietnam," Henningsen said. "People really don't care about skin color around here. It's all about getting a good education, getting along, and everybody just going about their business."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bronxville and receive free news updates.
