". . .Unlike most schools, [the University of] Virginia does not have to worry about finding enough academically able or financially well-fixed students to fill its freshman class. With a stellar academic reputation and reasonable costs for a top-tier school, Virginia is among that select academic species able to turn away far more students than it admits." U.S. News & World Report, September 18, 1995

Although rankings and lists are only a rough guide to an institution's quality, the University's increasing prominence in a growing number of categories confirms its stature as a national university. Public confirmation of the University's current strength has been resounding.

In September 1995, U.S. News and World Report  declared the University to be the top public university in the country and nineteenth out of 229 national (public and private) universities. In separate polls, U.S. News  ranked the School of Law as the top public law school in the country, ranking seventh overall.

The magazine placed the McIntire School of Commerce high on the list at seventh among undergraduate business schools nationally. The Darden School was ranked ninth and the master's of architecture program was rated tenth. The graduate program at the Curry School of Education was cited as a "pioneer in high-tech pedagogy," while ranking it thirteenth. The master's degree program in the School of Nursing placed among the nation's best in a U.S. News  poll on health care.

This year, the prestigious National Research Council, which evaluates 274 institutions every ten years, placed our graduate programs in English, religious studies, German, Spanish and Portuguese, and physiology among the top ten programs in their fields.

These educational opportunities are offered at a competitive price. Money  magazine placed the University of Virginia twenty-sixth in the Top 100 "Best Buys" for 1996, up from sixty-first last year, and the University earned a seventh-place ranking among national universi ties from U.S. News  in its listing of best values.