University Makes Repeat Appearance on ‘Best Values’ List
Boston College has has been included among the top 25 universities in the “100 Best Values in Private Colleges” compiled by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
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Boston College has once again been included among the top 25 universities in the “100 Best Values in Private Colleges” compiled by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.The annual private school rankings appear in Kiplinger’s December 2009 issue, which went on sale earlier this month. Selected from a pool of more than 600 private institutions, schools in the Kiplinger 100 were ranked according to academic quality and affordability, with quality accounting for two-thirds of the total. BC placed 23rd in the rankings.
In its introduction to the rankings, Kiplinger’s noted that despite tight financial resources in a troubled economy, many students who applied to college for the 2009-10 academic year received more financial aid than those who applied last year. Independent colleges increased financial aid by 9 percent while holding tuition increases — an average of 4.3 percent — to their lowest levels in four decades.
Some accepted more applicants, the magazine noted, and many “vigorously pruned expenses.”
“This year’s top 100 private schools met the challenges of a slumping economy with brio,” says Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s. “With so many private institutions offering generous financial aid packages, families are finding that private college is still affordable. In fact, the average tuition price can be as little as half or less of the sticker price — making them very competitive with public universities.”
The California Institute for Technology topped the private university list for the fourth straight year, followed by Princeton, Yale, Rice and Harvard. Rounding out the top 10 were Duke, Columbia, Penn, Dartmouth and MIT. Other private universities in the Kiplinger’s survey included Brown (12th), Cornell (18th), Tufts (22nd), Brandeis (24th), Wake Forest (25th), Georgetown (26th), Miami, Fla. (32), Southern California (33rd), Santa Clara (43rd), Boston University (47th) and Gonzaga, Wash. (50th).
The “Best Values” list and other related articles are available online at www.kiplinger.com/reports/best-college-values/.