FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington has again been selected as one of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News and World Report. The Farmington campus has been named one of the Top Public Comprehensive Colleges in the North.

Three other Maine institutions, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Colby College in Waterville and Bates College in Lewiston, also were listed in the report.

In the magazine’s grouping of top liberal arts colleges, Bowdoin was tied for seventh place, Colby was tied for 19th place and Bated was ranked 22nd. In a listing for best values in liberal arts colleges, Bowdoin was ranked 15th and Colby 18th.

For UMF, this marks the eighth consecutive year the institution has appeared in the college guide’s annual ranking of America’s best colleges, this year capturing the No. 2 spot in its category.

The newest edition of U.S. News’ survey, which will hit the newsstands Monday, includes more that 1,400 accredited four-year colleges and universities from across the nation.

The category in which UMaine Farmington was grouped, “Best Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s,” includes 324 institutions nationwide that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs – in the liberal arts and in professional fields such as education, business and other areas.

UMaine Farmington President Theodora J. Kalikow said in a prepared statement, “I think being named one of America’s Best’ eight years in a row tells college-bound Maine students, their parents and Maine high school guidance counselors that kids don’t have to leave Maine in order to get an outstanding college education at an affordable price. Their in-state University of Maine at Farmington is ranked up there with the best in the entire region.”

The rankings are both reviled and breathlessly awaited by educational administrators, who insist no formula can capture the value of a college experience, but have been forced to acknowledge the enormous role such listings play in the minds of many applicants and parents.

“Dig into the data, read the numbers, then use that as a launching point to learn about the nature of the school, the personality,” said U.S News and World Report’s executive editor, Brian Kelly. “We say this is a great starting point, but we don’t pretend it’s anything more than that.”