The latest list of America's "best value" colleges
includes several with the highest sticker prices in the nation, according to a
new ranking released Monday.
Among the schools with large tuitions that are nonetheless
considered top-value colleges are Williams and Swarthmore, according to The
Princeton Review's annual list of best value schools. The list is considered a
guide for prospective college applicants to seek out the best value for their
money.
"We're very quick to say it can't just be a low sticker
price," Best Value Colleges lead author Robert Franek says. "The
commitment has to be much deeper than that."
The key issue is whether institutions can keep costs down
while raising the quality of their education, says John Roush, president of
Centre College in Danville, Ky., one of 150 schools listed in the guide,
released exclusively to USA TODAY.
Centre's comprehensive tuition is about $40,000 for a
full-time undergraduate living on campus. That's slightly below the national
average reported by the non-profit College Board this year for private
colleges. With need-based grants averaging $24,000, many families pay far less.
In the national debate about college affordability, value
has become a central theme. President Obama brought it up in a speech last
month. It came up in a Senate hearing last week. And it's high on the agenda
when higher education leaders gather.
This year's Best Value Colleges list, which features 75
public and 75 private colleges, was drawn from data from 650 colleges.
Selections were based on academics, cost of attendance and gift aid. The online
database includes financial details for each college, such as the average
need-based aid awarded, the average amount borrowed and the percentage of
students who borrow. A companion book released Monday, The Best Value Colleges
2012, includes more details, including four-year and six-year graduation rates.
Mary Sue Coleman, president of the University of Michigan, a
Best Value public college, says her school spends more than $300 million in
undergraduate financial aid so students can focus on their studies rather than
their pocketbooks.
