The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.
Adjusting to the academic rigors of college can be challenging for any student. But for nonnative English speakers, who are sometimes still struggling with language basics, the college experience can seem even more daunting.
Enter English as a second language, or ESL, programs, which colleges offer to help students brush up on their English skills.
Sixty-nine of the 94 ranked schools that reported data to U.S. News had at least some 2013 graduates who participated in ESL programs in college. At those schools, on average, 2.3 percent of 2013 graduates were in ESL programs.
At the 12 schools with the highest ESL participation rates, at least 5 percent of 2013 graduates were involved in the programs. The University of Tulsa had the highest participation rate, with 9 percent of 2013 graduates in ESL. The Oklahoma school is among the National Universities with the most international students.
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Below is a list of the schools with the highest ESL participation rates. Rank Not Published schools are ranked in the bottom one-fourth of their ranking category. U.S. News calculates ranks for those schools but has decided not to publish them. Schools that were designated by U.S. News as Unranked were not considered for this report. Unranked programs do not meet certain criteria that U.S. News requires to be numerically ranked.
| School name (state) | Percent of 2013 graduates who participated in ESL | U.S. News rank and category |
|---|---|---|
| University of Tulsa (OK) | 9% | 88 (tie), National Universities |
| Syracuse University (NY) | 7% | 58 (tie), National Universities |
| Beloit College (WI) | 6% | 61 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Binghamton University–SUNY | 6% | 88 (tie), National Universities |
| La Roche College (PA) | 6% | 33 (tie), Regional Colleges (North) |
| Lawrence Technological University (MI) | 6% | 54 (tie), Regional Universities (Midwest) |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 6% | 7, National Universities |
| Linfield College (OR) | 5% | 124 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Mary Baldwin College (VA) | 5% | 49 (tie), Regional Universities (South) |
| Ohio State University–Columbus | 5% | 54 (tie), National Universities |
| University of Bridgeport (CT) | 5% | RNP, Regional Universities (North) |
| University of Utah | 5% | 129 (tie), National Universities |
Don’t see your school on the list? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find data on ESL programs, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed nearly 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2014 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The ESL data above are correct as of July 14, 2015.
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Colleges With the Highest Percentage of ESL Students originally appeared on usnews.com
