The UW is in the top 10 among schools identified as good values in education by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. With tuition skyrocketing and financial aid dwindling, the magazine has once again identified the top 100 values in public colleges using a rigorous quantitative ranking system. The "Kiplinger 100" finds schools where, according to the magazine, "students can receive a stellar education without graduating with a mountain of debt."
Selected from a pool of over 500 public four-year colleges and universities, the schools on the Kiplinger list were ranked according to academic quality, cost and financial aid. Kiplinger ranks quality based on standard test score averages, admission rates, freshman retention, student-to-faculty ratio, and graduation rates.
Affordability is measured by tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, and estimated book expenses, as well as the average cost for students with financial need that is covered through grants. The magazine also measures the average debt students accumulate before graduating.
The Top Ten
| School | Total In-State Cost | Total Out-of-State Cost |
|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $13,430 | $29,078 |
| University of Florida | $11,216 | $25,801 |
| University of Virginia | $17,225 | $36,475 |
| College of William and Mary (Va.) | $17,449 | $35,010 |
| New College of Florida | $11,605 | $29,458 |
| SUNY at Geneseo | $14,966 | $21,226 |
| University of Georgia | $13,754 | $26,858 |
| Binghamton University (SUNY) | $16,000 | $22,260 |
| University of Washington | $15,730 | $31,476 |
| University of California, Los Angeles | $20,969 | $40,037 |
While most of the Kiplinger 100 public colleges have 15,000 students or more, small public schools, such as SUNY at Geneseo, rival private liberal arts colleges-proving that students do not have to sacrifice an intimate setting for reasonable prices.
For more information on the ranking methodology, visit www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges.
