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NEW YORK, March 28, 2006 -- Which colleges offer students the best bang for their (ahem) parents' bucks? The Princeton Review says the nation's #1 "best value" private college is Brigham Young University (Provo UT), while New College of Florida (Sarasota) is the #1 "best value" public college. The schools top The Princeton Review's ranking lists of the 10 "best value" private and the 10 "best value" public colleges featured in its book, "America's Best Value Colleges: 2007 Edition" (Random House / Princeton Review, $18.95). Published today, the book profiles 150 schools the New York-based education services company recommends as the best deals in undergraduate education this year.
The Princeton Review selected the 150 schools for the book from a field of 646 colleges it considers academically excellent. In determining which were the "best values," it took into account institutional data from the schools and The Princeton Review's unique surveys of students attending them. Said Robert Franek, Princeton Review VP-Publishing, "We considered more than 30 factors to rate the colleges. Our assessments covered four areas: Academics, Tuition GPA (sticker price minus average amount students receive in scholarships and grants), Financial Aid (how well the colleges meet students' financial need), and Student Borrowing."
The book's "Top 10 Best Value Private Colleges" are:
1) Brigham Young Univ. (Provo UT), 2) Berea College (Berea KY), 3) Roberts Wesleyan College (Rochester NY), 4) Westminster College (Fulton MO), 5) Rice Univ. (Houston TX), 6) Wabash College (Crawfordsville IN), 7) Hillsdale College (Hillsdale MI), 8) The Univ. of the South (Sewanee TN), 9) Swarthmore College (Swarthmore PA), and 10) Earlham College (Richmond IN).
The book's "Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges" are:
1) New College of Florida (Sarasota), 2) North Carolina State Univ. (Raleigh), 3) California State Univ. (Long Beach), 4) Truman State Univ. (Kirksville MO), 5) Univ. of North Florida (Jacksonville), 6) Univ. of North Carolina (Asheville), 7) Univ. of Virginia (Charlottesville), 8) Texas A&M Univ. (College Station), 9) Univ. of California (Berkeley), and 10) Univ. of Oklahoma (Norman).
The Princeton Review today posted a list of the 150 schools in "America's Best Value Colleges" on its site http://www.princetonreview.com at which users can also search its other college ranking lists and survey reports. The company surveys 110,000 college students whose ratings of their schools determine its annual college rankings in 60 categories in "Best 361 Colleges" reported in August. Its "College Hopes and Worries Survey" of about 5,000 students and parents of applicants annually names their "Top 10 Dream Colleges" and is reported in March. The Princeton Review is known for its test-prep courses, books, college and grad school admission services, and K-12 education services. It is not affiliated with Princeton University or ETS.
Media / Press Contacts:
Jeanne Krier, Princeton Review Books, (212) 539-1350
Harriet Brand, The Princeton Review, (212) 874-8282 ext. 1091, harrietb@review.com
Robin Raskin, The Princeton Review, (212) 874-8282 ext. 1647, robinr@review.com