Ouachita Stories

With students and faculty enthusiastically sharing why Ouachita Baptist University is #MyTopCollege, Ouachita earned a national Top 10 finish in Forbes’ social media campaign announced today.

Ouachita, which ranked No. 8 among universities throughout the nation, is the smallest school among the Top 10 finalists. California State University, Fullerton, finished No. 1, followed by San Diego State University and Kansas State University. Ouachita is one of three liberal arts universities in the Top 10 along with Wittenberg University and Grand Valley State University.

Ouachita debuted two weeks ago on Forbes’ #MyTopCollege national leaderboard. The social media campaign involved students, faculty and alumni of universities throughout the nation posting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vine about what makes their university special.

During the campaign, Ouachita students and others posted more than 400 unique social media messages highlighting the Ouachita difference. According to Forbes, more than 300 schools participated in the campaign, with some 35,000 tweets and almost 8,000 posts on Instagram, “We were thrilled at the level of participation, and moved by the personal moments that students posted,” the Forbes article added.

Forbes featured a post and photo on its site from each of the top universities. Caitlyn Johnson, a senior early childhood education major from Winnsboro, Texas, posted Ouachita’s featured tweet that included a photo of snow falling at night on Heflin Plaza. “#MyTopCollege is @Ouachita because it’s not only an awesome university but it’s also my home and my family!!!” she tweeted.

In an interview with Forbes, Johnson said, “Ouachita is kind of like a second home to me. The people here, the faculty, the students, kind of took me in. You’re not alone here.” Describing the photo she posted, she added, “I don’t see snow very often; I like seeing places at their most beautiful.”

Ouachita Baptist University, a leading liberal arts university, is ranked nationally among America’s top universities by Forbes and U.S. News & World Report. Founded in Arkadelphia, Ark., in 1886, Ouachita seeks to foster a love of God and a love of learning in a Christ-centered learning community.