First, a few basics. Manchester College offers more than 55 areas of undergraduate study and two master's programs to 1,320 students from 24 states and 24 countries. The independent, liberal arts college is located in North Manchester, Ind., where 73 percent of the students live on the 120-acre campus. Manchester is a Church of the Brethren college; about 6 percent of the students are members of the denomination.

The College plans to launch a professional doctoral program in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) in Fort Wayne in August 2012, pending accreditation. The four-year program will be the only School of Pharmacy in northern Indiana.

College guides love Manchester. Year after year, Manchester receives acclaim from popular guides for college-bound students for its exceptional academic program. The 2012 America’s Best Colleges guide of U.S. News & World Report ranks Manchester College fourth in the Midwest in its "Great Schools, Great Prices" ranking. MC has received the “Best College” ranking for 18 consecutive years. The Princeton Review college guide also consistently ranks Manchester as a "Best in the Midwest." Read more >

Fulbrights galore. A total of 28 Manchester College graduates have received the U.S. government's prestigious Fulbright grants to study and teach abroad. That's the highest Fulbright ratio than at any other Indiana college or university. In addition, two Manchester faculty members have done research abroad as Fulbright Scholars.

Service: It's a Manchester mission. In 2010-11, MC students contributed 35,000 hours of community service, earning the College a spot on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth-straight year. The College's chapter of Indiana Reading Corps is one of the largest in the state, logging more than 3,000 hours tutoring elementary school children. Habitat for Humanity also is a major recipient of campus service.

MC grads get jobs. Year after year – within six months of their commencement – at least 93 percent of Manchester College graduates enter the work force, continue their education full-time or join full-time voluntary service. MC offers its students an “employment guarantee” – if they have taken advantage of the college’s services and opportunities and still don’t have a job within six months of graduation, they get a full year of classes tuition-free.

We grow CPAs. Manchester is legendary for producing well-prepared professionals who are offered full-time positions months before they graduate and who perform extremely well on the Uniform CPA exam.

Our pre-med students aren't average. Biology and chemistry students leave Manchester College ready for medical school. Over the last five years, 89 percent of MC graduates who applied to med school were accepted. The national average is about 40 percent.

Train here for law school. Over the last decade, 86 percent of applicants from Manchester College have gained admission to law school. The national average is 62 percent.

Professors of the Year teach here. Environmental scientist Dr. Jerry Sweeten (a 1975 MC graduate) is the 2009 Indiana Professor of the Year. And art Professor Emeritus James R.C. Adams, a member of the Manchester College faculty for more than 50 years, was the 2002 U.S. Professor of the Year. More than 400 colleges and universities nationwide compete for the honor.

Peace: We have some ideas about non-violence resolution to conflict. Manchester College is home to the nation’s first peace studies program and to one of the earliest environmental studies programs. Each May, at least half of our graduating seniors sport green ribbons on their gowns, signifying they have joined the Graduation Pledge Alliance:

“I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organization for which I work.”