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   
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In the Kiplinger ranking, you'll find a range of schools: from colossal (Texas A&M University in College Station, with nearly 34,000 undergraduates) to cozy (New College of Florida, with 634 students), urban (UCLA) to country (Appalachian State University, in Boone, N.C.) and lots in between. And while no list of "bests" can uncover the school that perfectly meets both a student's needs and a parent's budget, our list is a sensible place to start the search.
The hard numbers
We determined the winners by applying our own formulas to data supplied by the schools themselves. Most of that information was collected by Wintergreen-Orchard House, a division of Riverside Publishing, which gathers statistics each year on more than 600 four-year public colleges and universities around the country. We supplemented Wintergreen's data with statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and our own reporting.
First, we narrowed the list to the 200 most selective universities, based on the entrance-exam scores of the 2001 freshman class. To whittle the list to the final 100, we looked at several additional measures of quality, including how many freshmen returned for their sophomore year, four- and six-year graduation rates, student-faculty ratios, how much a college spends on each student for instruction, and how much it spends maintaining its libraries.
After determining the top 100 schools based on quality, we ranked them according to a combination of quality and cost. We looked at the total cost, the average percentage of financial need met by aid given to a student with need, the average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans) and the average debt a student accumulates before graduation. We place greater weight on quality (two-thirds) than cost (one-third) because a good value isn't necessarily determined by the lowest absolute cost.
Scaling the ivy walls
Taking advantage of these great buys hinges on one crucial point -- you've got to get in. That's no small feat at some top-10 schools, four of which (Berkeley, UNC, the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary) admit fewer than 40 of every 100 applicants. But most schools are within reach of reasonably good students: four of the top ten (Florida, Georgia, Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and New College) and 66 of the top 100 have admission rates of 60% or higher.
A sweet deal also can turn sour if you need to pay tuition for more than four years. For that reason, we gave strong consideration to four-year graduation rates, a not-too-reassuring statistic that college administrators generally like to downplay. Of the schools on our list, UVA and William and Mary are noteworthy for their high four-year graduation rates. Overall, the top 100 schools have an average four-year graduation rate of only 34%. Over six years, the graduation rate rises to 62%. That means roughly half of those who graduated from the top 100 schools took somewhat longer than four years to earn their sheepskin.
Among schools in our top 100, the total cost for state residents ranges from $7,638 (Mississippi University for Women) to $18,593 (College of New Jersey). The bill for out-of-state students runs from $8,905 (Mississippi University for Women) to $33,239 (University of Michigan). Because costs are relatively low in comparison with private schools -- for example, incoming freshmen will pay a total of $37,170 at Harvard University and $33,560 at Northwestern University -- most middle-income families qualify for little or no need-based aid (not including loans) at state schools. For that reason, we give the greatest weight to raw costs.
But we also give extra credit to schools that are generous with need-based aid, including loans. Unlike most private schools, the publics don't usually meet 100% of a student's financial need, so we weighed the percentage of need that each school meets. We measured what percentage of aid comes in the form of grants as well as the average debt load that students accumulate during their time on campus. Among the least stingy colleges on these scores were UNC, UVA and the University of Washington.
Reporter: Josephine Rossi
Less than 4,000 undergrads
A sense of familiarity and comfort is not exclusive to private schools. The sense of "knowing everyone on campus" is possible at a public college. These schools have fewer than 4,000 undergrads, so it's tough to get lost in the herd.
Colorado School of Mines (2,441)
Elizabeth City (N.C.) State University (1,818)
New College of Florida (634)
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (866)
North Carolina Central University (3,371)
St. Mary's College of Maryland (1,509) University of Missouri, Rolla (3,335)
University of North Carolina, Asheville (2,434)
Mary Washington College (Va.) (3,393)
Out in four years
Graduating on time" may be a relative term. But adding an extra year or more of college costs can torpedo what appears to be a good value. These schools have four-year graduation rates of at least 60%:
California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo
College of William and Mary (Va.)
Miami University (Ohio)
Salisbury State University (Md.)
State University of New York at Binghamton
SUNY, Geneseo
Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
University of Virginia
Mary Washington College (Va.)
Get the faculty to notice you
A small class size can often mean more attention from the professor, for better or for worse. These schools -- all among our top 50 -- have student/faculty ratios of 13 or less:
College of New Jersey
College of William and Mary (Va.)
Colorado School of Mines
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
New College of Florida
North Carolina Central University
Ohio State University, Columbus
St. Mary's College of Maryland
University of Delaware
University of Georgia
Univ. of Maryland, College Park
Univ. of North Carolina, Asheville
Out-of-state deals
With tuitions rising, it's tougher for nonresidents to get a bargain. These top-50 schools have out-of-state costs that total less than $18,000:
Appalachian State University (N.C.) $17,041
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo $16,668
Clemson University (S.C.) $15,468
Murray State University (Ky.) $14,437
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology $15,348
North Carolina Central University $17,526
Truman State University (Mo.) $16,728
University of Kansas $17,092
University of Idaho $17,164
To see more or to subscribe, visit kiplinger.com.
?2002 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. |
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