MONEY Magazine: UVA Among Best Values in Country

MONEY Magazine continues to give high marks to the University of Virginia, selecting it again as a top value among public and private institutions in the country.

In its 2017 “Best Colleges for Your Money” rankings, the magazine determines UVA is the best value among Virginia public and private institutions and the top university overall in the South, while placing the University at No. 7 among public institutions nationally.

According to MONEY, UVA has the highest graduation rate of any public institution in the country, at 93 percent. It also noted UVA’s commitment to meet 100 percent of all demonstrated financial need of undergraduate students.

MONEY drew on the research and advice of dozens of the nation’s top experts on education quality, financing and value to develop an analysis of 711 of the nation’s best-performing colleges. To earn a spot in the rankings, schools had to have sufficient, reliable data and not be in financial distress, among other things.

The publication determined quality of education based on a number of factors, including six-year graduation rate, peer quality, instructor quality and value-added graduation rate. MONEY defines this as a school scoring in the top 25 percent of its test of graduation rates, after accounting for the average test scores and percentage of low-income students among its enrollees. Affordability was determined by net price of a degree, debt, student loan repayment and default risk, value-added student loan repayment measures and affordability for low-income students.

MONEY determined the average salary of UVA graduates within five years of graduation is $58,000 — highest among the 19 Virginia institutions evaluated.

“Known as a ‘public Ivy,’ the University of Virginia offers in-staters a top-notch education with one of the country’s lowest total college costs,” reads the report. “What’s more, students live and study inside a UNESCO World Heritage Site (the only U.S. college to have that designation), featuring a spectacularly beautiful campus designed by University founder Thomas Jefferson.”

The complete MONEY rankings can be found online.