According to student reviews, NDSU provides a transformative educational experience. More than 1,340 Niche reviews show a broad consensus of satisfaction with the NDSU’s quality of education and campus life.
NDSU has been recognized as the No. 1 college in North Dakota by Niche, a website specializing in college rankings and student reviews.
Niche highlighted NDSU’s strong academic programs, vibrant campus life and commitment to student success. Niche’s rankings system awarded NDSU an overall B+ grade. Rankings and grades are calculated using a series of steps to ensure statistical rigor and useful guidance in the college choice experience.
According to student reviews, NDSU provides a transformative educational experience. More than 1,340 Niche reviews show a broad consensus of satisfaction with the NDSU’s quality of education and campus life.
NDSU ’s overall grade and North Dakota ranking was helped by accessibility to a wide range of students and rigorous academic standards. The university offers prospective students a straightforward path to higher education and is an affordable option for many families.
In addition to being Niche’s overall leader in higher education in North Dakota, NDSU topped the website’s rankings in the state for college athletics, food, student-athletes, best professors, student life, location, College of Business and public university.
Niche also ranked NDSU as the 20th college athletics program in the country. NDSU’s agriculture programs, food, student-athletes and architecture program also were in the national top 100. The university is ranked No. 55 in Best Colleges with No Application Fee in America.
Niche calculates college rankings and grades by balancing statistics with practical relevance. The process begins by selecting key factors that accurately represent each college and differentiate them from others. Data is then processed based on its type: user data from surveys is aggregated and analyzed using reliability methods, while factual data is inspected for errors. Once cleaned, data is standardized into z-scores to allow for fair comparisons across colleges. Weights are then applied to ensure no single factor disproportionately affects a school's overall score.
The final score for each college is based on these weighted factors and z-scores, leading to a numerical ranking and grade. Colleges with insufficient data are either excluded from rankings or given a grade if they meet certain criteria. Schools that have data for at least 50% of the factors and 500 or more full-time students qualify for both rankings and grades.
Rankings are ordered by final z-scores, while grades are assigned according to a normal distribution of those scores.
