91��Ƶ

February 18, 2026

91��Ƶ is listed among the top 30 in Niche’s “2026 Top Community Colleges in America.” The report also ranks EMCC No. 2 in “Best Colleges in Mississippi.”

The annual ranking is compiled from “key statistics and student reviews using data from the U.S. Department of Education,” Niche’s website states.

EMCC earned an overall B-plus grade by Niche, with A or B grades in all areas, which include academics, value, diversity, campus, professors, location, student life and safety.

EMCC is only one of two Mississippi community colleges to break the top 30 in Niche’s “2026 Best Colleges in America”, with EMCC coming in at number 29 on the list of 673 colleges. Southwest Mississippi Community College narrowly edged out EMCC in for the top spot in the “Best Community Colleges in Mississippi” list with a Niche ranking of A-minus. 

Last November, EMCC was named among “America’s Top Vocational Schools” for 2025 by USA TODAY and Statista. The 250 educational institutions with the highest scores made the list, according to a press release by USA Today and Statista. 

EMCC is among 117 schools on the “America’s Top Vocational Schools” to earn a five-star rating, the highest achievable score. The remaining 133 schools on the list earned four stars. Those schools that earned fewer than four stars did not make the list. Only 10 percent of the schools reviewed earned a five-star rating, according to a methodology of the study by Statista.

“Although EMCC is a comparatively small school, we consistently rank high among the nation’s community colleges,” EMCC President Dr. Scott Alsobrooks said. “That is a testament to the dedication of our administrators, faculty, staff and board of trustees, who are devoted to serving our students and providing them with an excellent education at an affordable price.

EMCC was also ranked in the top half of colleges in the nation in SmartAsset’s “Best Community Colleges – 2025 Study,” coming in at No. 245 out of the list of 585 community colleges in the nation.

 “Two-year colleges offering associate degrees were evaluated based on tuition and fees, student to faculty ratio, and retention rates for a holistic assessment of the student experience,” according to the SmartAsset study that was released Aug. 27.

In 2020, EMCC ranked 12^th in the nation by SmartAsset and placed in the Top 10 the four years prior to that. In 2019, the college placed No. 8 on SmartAsset’s list and ranked No. 5 in 2018, No. 3 in 2017 and No. 8 in 2016.

Data from SmartAsset’s 2025 study came from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System for the 2023-24 school year.