U.Va., JMU and Virginia Tech are among the 25 best values in higher education, according to new rankings from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine
The Kiplinger “100: Best Values in Public Colleges” list ranks University of Virginia third, James Madison University 19th and Virginia Tech 24th among 100 institutions “that combine outstanding economic value with a first-class education,” according to the publication’s editors.
According to the magazine’s editors, private colleges cost, on average $36,000 a year — a sharp difference to the public schools listed in the February issue.
“Despite rising tuition costs, there are still many first-rate institutions providing outstanding academics at an affordable price,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s. “Schools like these on the Kiplinger 100 list prove graduates can enter the workforce with a great education — and without a huge cloud of debt.”
The financial environment for colleges and universities couldn’t be worse, the magazine points out. “Over the past few years, states have cut funding for colleges and universities by tens of millions of dollars, leaving schools much smaller budgets to cope with increased enrollment and greater demand for financial aid,” the article says. “Federal stimulus funding, which provided crucial support, will soon run out, and Medicaid continues to deplete state coffers.
U.Va. and the College of William & Mary, which ranked fourth, received special recognition in the issue.
“Two Virginia schools deserve special Kiplinger kudos for consistently maintaining their position among our top five since our first rankings, in 1998,” the article said, citing graduation rates, high-achieving incoming students and attractive financial aid packages.
Comments
Kudos to UVA and the other VA schools that made the list. I find it interesting that the article specifically mentions UVA, JMU and Va Tech in the first 2 paragraphs, but doesn’t get around to mentioning W&M - which was ranked 1 spot below UVA and higher than the other 2 schools - until almost the end.
I noticed the same thing - as I was reading the article, I could not understand how W&M didn’t make this list; the fact that they are actually No. 4 on the list means some interesting editorializing was going on. The Commonwealth has done very well to place four schools in the top 25.
I noticed the apparent W&M slight also. But when I hit “continue reading,” I saw that the article originated on newsleader.com, “serving the central shenandoah valley.” That may explain their regional focus on the three schools mentioned first.
Great detective work, James. It’s weird how the link to “continue reading” exists because the article shown here is already in its entirety (perhaps it’s just a link to source).
I haven’t seen the current 2010 rankings but my student transferred from the #1 rated “Best Value” school to UVA. Pls know, while UVA might register #3 based on actual dollars, the overall quality at UVA is substantially better in almost every aspect. There’s just no comparison in our opinion.
Parent of current 2nd year.
So, bragging now about being right up there at the top with Madison Teachers’ College, are we?
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