Alfred University tops one of the regional lists released today by U.S. News & World Report, winning the distinction of the regional university in the North with the greatest economic diversity among its students.
The rankings in this category are determined by looking at the percentage of undergraduate students getting Pell grants, which are generally given to students whose family income is less than $20,000. At Alfred, 30 percent of students get Pell grants, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Other local schools landing near the top of that list:
- Nazareth College in Rochester, where 28 percent of students get Pell grants
- Canisius College, 25 percent
- Rochester Institute of Technology, 23 percent
- SUNY Geneseo, 18 percent.
U.S. News & World Report today also released lists ranking colleges and universities by their racial diversity. Among regional universities in the North, St. Peter's College in Jersey City, N.J., landed at the top of the list, with a diversity index of .72, based on its population of non-whites. You have to look quite a way down that list to find any local schools:
- D'Youville College and Buffalo State College rate highest among the locals, each with a diversity index of .34
- SUNY Geneseo, .24
- Medaille College, .23
- SUNY Oswego, .22
- Canisius, .20
- Niagara University, .17
- SUNY Fredonia, .15.
- Mary Pasciak
E-mail me at mpasciak@buffnews.com or follow me on 
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