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For the third consecutive year, The Wall Street Journal has ranked Bridgewater State as one of the best colleges in America. To understand why, just ask BSU students and alumni.

“Bridgewater is the ‘mother’ of schools. I’ve been embraced, loved, and supported in the ways I needed, the way you should be,” said Marilyn Aziz, ’26, who is blossoming at BSU after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a car crash.

Marilyn, who aspires to become a physical therapist, credits her professors with helping her find a meaningful career in the wake of so much trauma.

“From the moment I arrived at Bridgewater I was welcomed by a supportive and caring community that played a pivotal role in my academic and personal growth,” she said.

That commitment to helping every student — one student at a time — without exception resonates throughout Bridgewater State. It has undoubtedly helped the university rank in the top 15 percent of schools nationwide and 26th out of more than 100 Massachusetts institutions in the new report from The Wall Street Journal, CollegePulse and Statista. The analysis measured how well schools improve students’ chances of graduating and their future earnings while factoring in results of a student survey.

Bridgewater’s repeated success in this ranking speaks to the value of a BSU degree, said President Frederick W. Clark Jr., ’83.

“BSU positively changes the trajectory of countless student lives by delivering an excellent education that leads to a higher post-graduation salary at a lower cost than most universities in America,” Clark said.

Graduates add an average of $26,166 per year to their salary as a result of attending Bridgewater State, according to the Journal analysis. With an average net cost of attendance of only $17,970 per year, it takes graduates less than three years to recoup their investment.

Jesse Frazier, ’22, who works as a ticket service associate for the Boston Red Sox, found value in the opportunities BSU provided to complete an internship, write for the student newspaper and engage closely with faculty.

“The small class sizes and the professors were really key. I was exposed to real-life situations that prepared me for the real world,” said Frazier, who earned a degree in communications. “Whether it was a business class that taught me how to be a better communicator or a public relations class that taught me how to write a press release, Bridgewater had the resources.”

The analysis also incorporated results from a student survey. BSU received strong scores for the quality of its learning facilities and the extent to which students would recommend the university to a friend or choose the same school again if they could start over.

Bridgewater helped Evaneida Fortes, ’26, G’27, who contributed to the development of devices that could one day be used in space, realize how far her love of mathematics could take her.

“Bridgewater State has helped me grow as a person,” she said. “It has helped me grow academically. It has made me feel a sense of belonging and that I can do anything I desire to do.”