LEXINGTON, Va., June 13, 2024 — Virginia Military Institute has been rated a 5-star college in Money magazine’s Best Colleges in America list for 2024, in the magazine’s tenth year of publishing a Best Colleges list. Starting with a new system last year, Money assigns colleges a rating on a five-star scale, with five stars being the best. VMI was rated a 4.5-star college in 2023. 

More than 740 colleges were scored based on factors in three main categories: quality, which looks at graduation rates and Pell Grant recipient outcomes; affordability, which looks at both short- and long-term affordability, the net price of a degree, and the average student debt upon graduation; and outcomes, which is based on earnings and employment data 10 years after enrolling in the school. 

VMI also appears on this year’s Best Public Colleges and Best Colleges in the South lists. Money reports that VMI graduates typically earn a median salary of $77,000 early in their careers. 

Previously, Money magazine had a numbered ranking, and VMI came in at No. 5 overall out of the more than 620 colleges ranked on Money magazine’s 2022 Best Colleges in America list. 

The full Best Colleges list, along with the methodology, can be found at money.com/bestcolleges. 

For more information on how to apply to VMI, visit vmi.edu/apply.

- VMI -