CHAPEL HILL, N.C., April 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- College Consensus (https://www.collegeconsensus.com), a unique new college ratings website that aggregates publisher rankings and student reviews, has published their ranking of the Best Regional Colleges in the West for 2018 at https://www.collegeconsensus.com/rankings/best-regional-colleges-west/.

To identify the Best Regional Colleges-West 2018, College Consensus combined the latest results from the most respected college rankings with thousands of real student reviews to produce a unique consensus score for each school. According to College Consensus founder Jeremy Alder, "Like Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic does for movies, College Consensus gathers the publisher rankings and student reviews from around the web and distills the results into simple, easy to understand scores so students can quickly and easily compare schools. It is the ranking of all rankings, so to speak." Learn more about the College Consensus rankings methodology at https://www.collegeconsensus.com/about/ .

To help prospective college students and their families evaluate the educational options open to them, College Consensus has identified the best regional colleges in the West, according to the combination of published rankings and student reviews. The top 10 are:

1. Texas Lutheran University - Sequin, TX
2. William Jessup University - Rocklin, CA
3. Arizona Christian University - Phoenix, AZ
4. Howard Payne University - Brownwood, TX
5. Carroll College - Helena, MT
6. McMurry University - Abilene, TX (tied)
7. San Diego Christian College - San Diego, CA (tied)
8. Oklahoma Baptist University - Shawnee, OK
9. Brigham Young University-Idaho - Rexburg, IA
10. Southwestern Adventist University - Keene, TX

"The west includes some of the biggest contrasts in America, from the most populous state (California) to some of the least populated wilderness," Managing Editor Carrie Sealey-Morris explains; this character "creates a particular need for regional colleges." Some regional colleges must meet the huge demand for career training and professional education for a large urban and suburban population," while others "must reach rural and remote populations far from urban centers." For the College Consensus ranking, regional colleges are defined as "the bachelor's and associate's colleges doing the invaluable work of preparing the west's workforce." Regional colleges primarily offer undergraduate programs, and though they may have some graduate programs, those do not usually include doctorates. Most importantly, regional universities focus on the essential programs that keep society running.

College Consensus' Best Regional Colleges ranking "applies the College Consensus methodology to ranking the best 2-year and 4-year colleges in the western US [to give] students a comprehensive picture of what colleges will meet their needs most effectively." As College Consensus explains, "by taking the long view, College Consensus can become an invaluable part of a prospective college student's research process," says Managing Editor Carrie Sealey-Morris. 

College Consensus is a new approach to college rankings. The rankings are reached by combining the latest results from the most respected college ranking systems with thousands of real student review scores from around the web to produce an aggregate College Consensus rating for each school. Students will not find a more comprehensive ranking of the top colleges and universities anywhere. In addition to rankings, College Consensus also offers expert advice and guidance on all aspects of college life, from finding the perfect college, to getting accepted, paying for it, and finding your professional path after graduation.