When the majority of people think of top rated school in America, their minds immediately go to Yale or Harvard. Almost no one would put Millikin in the same category. However, the list Forbes’ published proves otherwise.

Millikin University was one of 25 colleges from Illinois to qualify for Forbes magazine’s online list of “America’s Top Colleges 2014.” It is one of 650 national academic institutions to make it onto this prestigious list. In addition to that, Millikin is one of 159 schools The Princeton Review recommends in its “Best in the Midwest” section of the website feature, “2015 Best Colleges: Region by Region.”

“I’m very excited to hear about the placement of Millikin on that list,” said sophomore Alex Blair.

In the past, Millikin has typically been heralded for its Fine Arts Department. Blair believes being on Forbes’ list will provide “at least a minimal amount of exposure for the school that is outside of the [Fine Arts] Department.” Being a part of this list could also help be a deciding factor for prospective students deciding between Millikin and another university.

There are a number of elements that Forbes takes into consideration when compiling their list. Student satisfaction, post-graduate success, and student debt are just a few. Millikin’s dedication to performance-based learning has certainly helped with receiving recognition.

Junior Jared Rixstine thinks that this recognition is much deserved.

“I think this is a huge success for Millikin as a whole,” said Rixstine. “It shows that the students’ work is paying off and getting recognized, that the faculty’s dedication and outstanding scholarship is exhibited and that the guidance our administration has given us is pointing us in the right direction.”

Yet, one must look at this through every perspective, and sophomore Emma Hoyer has done just that.

“I’m glad that we were at least included on the list. However, we don’t even break the top 500,” Hoyer said. “If you filter the list to just the institutions in Illinois that were included, there are 17 ahead of us. 5 of those 17 institutions are in our athletic conference. While it’s great that we were even recognized, even at a small scale, I struggle to see this as a means to increase interest in Millikin.”

While it is wonderful that Millikin is making headway in the academic world, is that really enough? Can a bottom spot on a top list actually make a difference in future student attendance? It helps to stay positive and strive to make it higher on the list next year.
“Millikin is very underappreciated, and promoting the positives would be great at getting the university out more,” sophomore Spencer Clark said.

Millikin can be hopeful towards climbing the list if the students and faculty continue to demonstrate the hard work and diligence that they did this past year. It is surely within the realm of possibilities.