Penn State ranks as the 7th best university according to Washington Monthly‘s “2009 College Guide and Rankings”. The rankings are based on “what institutions do for their students but also what they do for the nation, based on criteria including social mobility, research and service.” Penn State clearly does a lot of good. It is a huge part of the PA economy, and the football team isn’t bad either. Finishing ahead of Old State were three schools from the University of California system: Berkeley, San Diego, and Los Angeles; as well as Stanford, South Carolina State University, and Texas A&M.

Stressing the importance of higher education, the editors of Washington Monthly said:

“Higher education isn’t something that only 17-year-olds and their parents need to worry about,”…”In the information age, we all depend on colleges and universities to produce groundbreaking research and new inventions, to serve as engines of social mobility for first-generation college students, and to mold the minds of future leaders. And we all pay for it — colleges receive enormous amounts of public money through direct subsidies and tax breaks every year. In other words, we need more than just good college rankings for prospective students — we need good college rankings for everyone else.

Penn State has done a good job.
If you’re interested in how the rest of the Big Ten did, look no further…

Following Penn State were University of Michigan, ranked No. 18; Ohio State University, No. 20; University of Illinois, No. 24; University of Wisconsin, No. 30; Michigan State University, No. 34; Northwestern University, No. 39; Purdue University, No. 48; University of Minnesota, No. 50; University of Iowa, No. 64; and Indiana University, No. 83.