Univ. ranked seventh best value of national colleges
The University ranked seventh in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s annual Best Value listing of national colleges and universities, its third consecutive year in the top 10.
KIPLINGER’S 2008
BEST VALUE RANKINGS
1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2. University of Florida
3. University of Virginia
4. College of William and Mary
5. New College of Florida
6. State University of New York at Geneseo
7. University of Georgia
8. State University of New York at Binghamton
9. University of Washington
10. University of California at Los Angeles
The University moved up three spots from last year’s place at 10.
Georgia Tech pulled in just behind at 12, and Georgia College and State University made the top 100 at No. 83.
The first and second ranked schools were the same as 2007′s – the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Florida.
The Best Value rankings are based on academics and finances, according to the magazine.
Editors narrow the list of more than 500 national public colleges and universities to 120 based on academic measures such as admission rates, SAT scores and student-faculty ratios. In-state tuition and the average debt a student accumulates before graduation also is considered for the rankings.
“I think the primary reasons (for the ranking) are that we are one of the lowest-tuition states in the country, both for in-state and out-of-state students, coupled with the HOPE Scholarship, which allows the majority of students to pay no tuition at all,” said Tom Jackson, senior vice president of public affairs.
“Therefore, our students graduate with a low-debt rate, which is part of Kiplinger’s formula. UGA also fares very well on the academic criteria, making us a strong academic product for a very-low price.”
