Kiplinger's Ranks U.Va. Third among Best Values in Public Colleges

January 11, 2006 — The University of Virginia ranks third among the top 100 values in public colleges as determined by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

The Kiplinger 100 is described by the magazine’s editors as a list of “schools where students can receive a stellar education without graduating with a mountain of debt.”

The survey uses data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities and combines such academic quality measurements as test scores and graduation rates with cost and financial aid data.

In addition to its overall rating of No. 3, U.Va. ranks second in the cost to in-state students once financial aid is applied. This reflects the impact of the University’s AccessUVa program which guarantees to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need for all admitted undergraduate students.

Virginia also has the highest four-year (83%) and six-year (92%) graduation rates of all the institutions in the rankings.

Other Virginia public universities that made Kiplinger’s Top 100 include the College of William and Mary (4th), James Madison University (17th), Virginia Tech (20th), and the University of Mary Washington (22nd). Topping the “Best Values” list is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Kiplinger article and rankings are available on the magazine’s Web site.