U.S. News and World Report has ranked Wake Forest in the list of top-30 overall schools for the past 23 years, and this year is no exception. Their 2019 Best Colleges guide placed Wake Forest in the 27th overall spot against 312 other American universities.

In U.S. News’ rankings, the school was rated as 13th for “Strong Commitment to Undergraduate Teaching,” 24th for “Best Values,” 40th among national universities for “High School Counselors’ Top Picks” and 45th for the “Most Innovative Schools.”

The 2019 guide even went a step further and commended the university’s average class sizes. Wake Forest continues to have the lowest class size out of any of the other top 30 colleges. Amanda Mosher, a freshman, has also already recognized and appreciated this fact.

“I only have one class above 30 students, even at the intro-level classes,” Mosher said.

Several students are very excited about the school’s recognition. The assurance of attending a distinguished university is flattering for many.

“I wanted to go to a good school, and now I know I really do go to a good school,” said sophomore Sean Freed.

“I am proud to go to a school that is so well regarded and highly ranked,” said senior Victoria Varah. “I am excited to graduate from Wake Forest and proud of the work my peers and I have done to get to graduation.”

Another one of the rankings of the excellence came from the Wake Forest School of Business. For the past 12 years, the business school placed within the top 10 percent of all undergraduate business programs. The school achieved a rank of 35th place, a substantial improvement compared to last year’s 40th place.

“I am trying to go the business school, so seeing the improvement is a good sign for me,” Freed said.

World Report’s acknowledgement of undergraduate teaching hit home to a handful of students.

Many students seem to appreciate the amount of effort that the professors put into teaching classes and ensuring student learning.

“I am in an anthropology class, and the level at which we are learning and the retention rate that I have due to the teacher’s care for the students is astounding,” Mosher said.

Not only do students enjoy a low student-to-faculty ratio and the general high rank of the school, but the official rank of Wake Forest has sparked a newfound appreciation for other facets of the university among students.

“The opportunities that we have for clubs or classes are  amazing,” Mosher said. “For example, I can go to the Chemistry Center at times to get tutored, and that is something that I did not see in many other places.”

While the rank is thrilling for students to hear about, it did not come as a surprise.

“It is common knowledge that our nickname is Work Forest,” Varah said.

“From the four weeks that I have been here, I have seen how and why we were are ranked so high,”

Overall, the rankings seem to have increased school spirit and students have demonstrated their enthusiasm for attending a well-rounded university.

“One of the reasons that I decided [to attend] here was that it was so prestigious,” Mosher said. “I am happy that I am here.”

Wake Forest’s reputation is also embraced by the student body, because it seems to demonstrate that their phenomenal work ethic has not gone unnoticed.

“It shows students that all the work we put in is recognized not just by the faculty but also the academic community,” Varah said.