How did Utah schools fare in newest college rankings?

It's Christmas morning for colleges and universities across the U.S., with many hoping they don't end up with a lump of coal in their stockings.

U.S. News and World Report released its annual Best Colleges Rankings on Tuesday, and three Utah schools made the list, as expected.

Leading the way in the Beehive State this year is Brigham Young University, which placed No. 109 overall among schools in the country. The ranking is a jump of 6 spots from last year. While BYU did not crack the Top 100, it did rank 21st best in the "Best Value Schools" category with tuition and fees at just $6,688.

The University of Utah was just a few spots behind at No. 136 overall and No. 69 in the "Top Public Schools" category. The overall ranking was a drop of 21 spots from a year ago.

At No. 259, ten spots higher than the previous rankings, Utah State University in Logan was the final state school to make the list.

U.S. News has been ranking schools for four decades, using 17 different factors, including graduation and retention rates, borrower debt, faculty salaries and student-faculty ratio.

Among the three Utah schools that were ranked, the University of Utah had the largest 4-year graduation rate by far at 34%, followed by BYU (28%) and Utah State (27%).

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