The University of Wisconsin climbed the ranks to seventh-best public institution in the nation and tied for the 35th-best university overall in a popular annual ranking.

U.S. News and World Report’s 2008 edition of America’s Best Colleges, which

hit stands Aug. 22, includes UW moving up one ranking among public institutions from its 2007 position at No. 8 and up in the national overall ranking three spots from No. 38.

UW tied with Georgia Institute of Technology, Lehigh University, University of California-San Diego and University of Rochester for 35th place among 262 other national universities offering doctoral degrees.

According to Karen Mittelstadt, assistant director of communications for the Office of Admissions, there are two ways the rankings can be viewed.

“From a student’s point of view, to aspire to attend a university that is ranked seventh in the nation is important. Students pay attention to the guides, and we know that has some impact,” Mittelstadt said. “From the university perspective, all of the rankings need to be taken with a grain of salt. There are many different criteria that determine them.”

U.S. News and World Report used various criteria to decide which school would receive the top marks, including graduation rates, retention rates, financial resources, student selectivity, faculty resources and alumni gifts.

UW beat out other Big Ten universities in its national overall placement, including the University of Illinois and Penn State University.

Gary Sandefur, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences, said rankings are only one piece of what a university stands for, and a decision to attend should not be made solely on the basis of rankings.

“These rankings have been coming out for a long time, but I think parents and students understand what a great institution this is, and the fact that we are ranked lower than Harvard is not going to keep brilliant people from applying here,” Sandefur said.

Mittelstadt said while the rankings could influence students to some degree, they would not affect the number of applications anticipated for next fall or the amount of interest expressed in the university.

“We have been in the top 10 for many, many years, and so one point up or down is not going to impact [UW],” Mittelstadt said.

UW was also ranked third in chemical engineering. Additionally, both the College of Engineering and the School of Business ranked 13th, according to U.S News and World Report.