The reality behind St. Kate’s new ranking as the 3rd Best College for Women in 2026
By Alexandriana Davis
Deciding what college to attend is a daunting task that many young women are facing right now. There are many factors to consider beyond academics. These are the formative years where a person’s values are shaped, where they find space to independently grow into themselves, and where they lay the foundation for their future. Recognizing how crucial this decision is for the outcome of many young women’s lives, Newsweek and Gender Fair created and released their inaugural list of America's Best Colleges for Women 2026. In this list, among both coeducational and all-women’s colleges in the United States, St. Catherine University is ranked #3.
Newsweek and Gender Fair used two primary sources of data for their rankings: the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the Campus Safety and Security Database, both from the US Department of Education. The ranking system they used to evaluate this data is based on the Women’s Empowerment Principles, which led them to look at four specific categories: leadership, pay and policies, safety and opportunity. Each of these categories was chosen to encompass where equity needs to be practiced for women to succeed in the short and long term. Out of the categories listed, St. Catherine University received a leadership score of 98, a pay and policy score of 85, a safety score of 97 and an opportunity score of 33. The university’s overall score was 81.4.
These statistics may seem powerful, but as Newsweek and Gender Fair both recognize, there is always more to the story. To add further nuance to these statistics, undergraduate students at St. Catherine University were asked to reflect on the accuracy of St. Kate’s ranking.
One student noted how the scores reflect their experience at the university. “I think this is an accurate ranking because St. Kate’s is really big on supporting their students and faculty, and they are all about community and building success for women to do great things in the future,” said Narriah Copeland ‘28 (Fashion Merchandising, Marketing minor).
Another student reflected on the individual numbers St. Kate’s received in each specific category. “I believe the rankings for the categories are mostly accurate, as the school has a good leadership program and takes campus safety seriously. The school does offer a lot of support and resources for pay and policies, too, such as helping find scholarships. Though I also agree with a lower score on opportunity, as there are some programs the school doesn’t provide,” said Kathryn Luterman ‘29 (Undecided).
One student pointed out how being a historically women’s college might play a role in St. Kate’s equity practices. “I think there is a historical aspect to it because this is a historically women’s college, so it would make sense for it to be ranked so high,” said Bailey Top ‘28 (Art, Graphic Design, and Accounting minor).
Across St. Kate’s, there seems to be widespread agreement with the accuracy of the ranking St. Kate’s received. Many students were proud of this ranking and felt it reflected what St. Kate’s has to offer to future students. “As a Katie, I feel really good about this ranking. I think it's nice that our school is getting recognition. I think it will showcase that here at St. Kate’s, we do a lot of amazing things, and it will encourage women to come here and further their education,” said Copeland.
While these numbers are a great tool for young women making college decisions and something the university should be proud of, many students point out the potential benefit this tool offers students here and now. They explain that the ranking should be used for more than just enticing students to enroll here; it should hold the institution to a high standard.
After diving into the methodology and statistics, two students in particular emphasized the importance of using this tool to drive tangible change. “I think there is a bigger issue in the world, especially in, like, just academics in general, where there's a tendency for organizations to just kind of hide behind buzzwords and phrases, and we're like, oh, we're number three. We're like, oh, we love community. And that doesn't necessarily mean that they're living up to it. Yeah, the actual ranking is a cool thing to be excited about, especially on a basic level. But what are we going to do with that?” Nellie Larson ‘28 (Math, Economics minor).
Mattea Gheorghe ‘26 (Philosophy) elaborates on Larson’s statement. “I'm hoping that this information kind of starts a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is how we are displayed on a national level, which hopefully means that our administration knows what the public expectation is for us and then actually adds to it as opposed to making that a facade where we just have this blanket of numbers hiding whatever else isn't really working or hasn't been very well developed because we haven't needed to in case of an emergency,” said Gheorghe. “Going forward, we need to do something with it, and it has to be tangible.”
Overall, the student body’s message is clear: this is a ranking to be proud of, celebrated, and shared. It tells the story of St. Kate’s dedication to women’s success. However, these scores are not merely numbers; they set a standard that St. Catherine University must uphold. After all the publicity this ranking has generated, it is time for St. Catherine University to prove itself worthy of being named the 3rd best college for women in 2026.
