Mount St. Mary's College is a private, independent, Catholic liberal arts college, primarily for women, in Los Angeles, California. The college was founded in 1925 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, and today has two campuses, which are just over 16 miles (26 km) apart: Chalon in Brentwood and Doheny in North University Park, near Downtown Los Angeles. Nearly sixty percent of the entering freshman class are first generation college students. Three quarters of the student body is made up of visible minority students, while women make up nearly 95% of first-year undergraduate students. According to the 2007 U.S. News & World Report listing of America’s Best Colleges, Mount St. Mary’s College is one of the highest ranked master's-granting universities in the Western United States, placing among the top twenty schools evaluated, out of 574 colleges and universities nationally. The college first held its classes at St. Mary's Academy, then located at West Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. In 1928, the Sisters purchased 36 acres (150,000 m²) of land along the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains from the Rodeo Land and Water Company for $162,000.