Cornerstone University Named to Wall Street Journal’s 500 Best Colleges in the U.S. List for a Second Consecutive Year
Cornerstone University has once again been ranked among the nation’s top 500 institutions in The Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. list. Cornerstone is the only faith-based university in Michigan to receive this national recognition two years in a row — underscoring the university’s academic quality, career outcomes, and commitment to preparing graduates who lead with both competence and character.
The Wall Street Journal and College Pulse rankings evaluate more than 1,500 colleges nationwide, weighing graduate salaries, graduation rates, time to pay back educational costs, learning environment, and student diversity. With strong rankings for social mobility and student experience, Cornerstone’s continued recognition reflects its consistent performance in outcome-based measures and its mission to unite professional readiness with moral formation.
“A second recognition from The Wall Street Journal affirms that Cornerstone’s distinctive approach stands strong in one of the most competitive higher education landscapes in the nation,” said President Gerson Moreno-Riaño. “These measures that are important to students and families prove that an education from a distinctly Christian worldview — committed to marketplace readiness, moral formation and accessibility for all — has a vital place in American higher education.”
This mission and value-driven focus has resulted in an 18% increase in freshmen and transfer student enrollment this year. Cornerstone continues to prioritize radical affordability, recently announcing its continued tuition freeze through 2026-27 and the extension of the Cornerstone Commitment Grant, a tuition-free partnership for all full Pell Grant-eligible students with the state of Michigan. Cornerstone’s tuition is just as affordable as many public universities, which is a draw for students who want a private, personalized experience where professors are mentors and learning is interactive within a vibrant Christian community.
Growth and outcomes are also the result of the Cornerstone Advantage™ commitment to students and families that address key life and career domains: moral goodness, academic expertise, experiential learning, leadership learning, and talent acceleration. Programs such as CU LEAD integrate leadership development into every academic discipline, while the Center for Academic Success and Support provides tutoring, mentorship and academic coaching to help students thrive.
Cornerstone is proud to extend its mission beyond Michigan through partnerships with virtues-based organizations like Pastor Corey Brooks’ Project H.O.O.D. in Chicago and Ian Rowe’s Vertex Partnership Academies in New York City. These collaborations offer guaranteed admission to partner students, ensuring that a high-quality, Christ-centered, private college education is accessible to students from all backgrounds and regions.
Recognized for its Biblically grounded mission, Cornerstone University equips graduates to influence the world for Jesus Christ through lives of wisdom, purpose and industry preparation — demonstrating that faith and excellence together can provide measurable impact on students and the nation.
For more information about Cornerstone University’s 65 degree programs and highly-ranked private Christian education, contact admissions@cornerstone.edu.
