YSU makes Forbes’ annual list of “America’s Top Colleges” — at second to last.

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State University made Forbes’ annual list of “America’s Top Colleges” — at second to last.

YSU ranks 649 of 650 schools on the list released Wednesday by the magazine in partnership with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

Coastal Carolina Univeristy in Conway, S.C., school is No. 650.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are 3,026 four-year colleges and universities in the country.

In 2013, YSU ranked No. 238 on the list.

YSU is last among the 31 four-year Ohio’s colleges and universities on the list. Two-year institutions aren’t part of the ranking.

It’s based on return on investment and uses five main criteria, according to the magazine’s website: student satisfaction, 25 percent; post-graduate success, 32.5 percent; student debt, 25 percent; graduation rate, 7.5 percent; and academic success, 10 percent.

For the post-graduate success element, salary of alumni by school were determined by Payscale.com, but “because success isn’t just about money, we reward schools where the establishment, influencers and innovators received their degrees,” the website said.

Student success is based on student evaluations on RateMyProfessor.com. It also considers the number of students who transfer out of schools in the calculation.