The Best College Values of 2018

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Kiplinger has named its 300 Best College Values for 2018. Introduced in 1998, the rankings now combine public schools, private universities and private liberal arts colleges into a single, comprehensive list. Kiplinger also ranks the 100 best values in each category. The analysis is based on objective measurements of academic quality and affordability, not subjective criteria.

This year, Princeton University takes the #1 spot on the overall list, followed by Davidson (which is also first among private liberal arts colleges) and then Swarthmore College. Swarthmore topped last year’s combined list. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is ranked best public college for the 17thconsecutive time.

The full rankings are now available online at kiplinger.com/links/colleges and will appear in print in the February 2018 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, on newsstands January 9.

“Our rankings, which weigh affordability alongside academic quality, are a great resource for students and their parents when sorting through college choices,” said Mark Solheim, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. “We start with a universe of nearly 1,200 schools and trim the list using measures of academic quality. We then rank the schools based on cost and financial aid data. All 300 schools on our list are worth a look.”

At Kiplinger.com, visitors have access to the “Find the Best College for You” tool and other resources that let readers sort by admission rate, average debt at graduation and other criteria for all schools, plus in-state and out-of-state cost for public colleges. Also online: slide shows of the top ten schools in different categories, archives of past years’ rankings and an FAQ on the ranking methodology.

Below are highlights from this year’s rankings:

Top 50 Overall College Values:

Total Cost
Per Year*		Average Need- Based AidUndergrad Class Average Debt
1. Princeton University$61,140$47,497$8,908
2. Davidson College64,90341,99820,431
3. Swarthmore College67,11045,53622,957
4. Harvard University66,60948,59816,702
5. Duke University69,59847,13322,256
6. Pomona College68,12546,03918,738
7. Vanderbilt University64,54241,33124,122
8. Rice University60,65836,77222,497
9. Washington and Lee University63,88042,29226,397
10. Wellesley College67,78445,17813,415
11. Williams College68,50048,88515,496
12. Dartmouth College69,78746,77017,849
13. Yale University70,57050,56513,625
14. Thomas Aquinas College32,50014,22516,986
15. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill47,74817,26020,852
16. Vassar College69,01047,17618,462
17. Massachusetts Institute of Technology65,61241,76724,954
18. California Institute of Technology66,02741,90118,219
19. Amherst College69,50050,38018,662
20. Stanford University66,18445,31821,987
21. Wesleyan University68,17042,45722,495
22. Hamilton College67,17041,82521,491
23. Bowdoin College66,82042,20623,120
24. Columbia University72,62750,73323,463
25. College of the Holy Cross65,32035,52125,446
26. Hillsdale College38,5527,27526,941
27. Grinnell College64,01439,44418,780
28. Colorado College66,12442,45120,742
29. Cornell University68,16339,59523,389
30. Emory University64,51040,81629,217
31. Haverford College71,61446,00913,000
32. University of Florida39,7797,08321,645
33. University of Richmond63,83039,87427,670
34. Johns Hopkins University69,31038,23823,593
35. Brown University69,01044,10523,810
36. Centre College52,18028,88026,740
37. Smith College67,57441,78623,857
38. Middlebury College68,46445,03518,736
39. Carleton College67,23738,38222,641
40. Washington University in St. Louis68,53140,50923,577
41. University of Pennsylvania69,88043,89924,536
42. Barnard College69,91243,18322,015
43. Boston College68,73837,71620,481
44. University of Chicago73,56043,79223,852
45. Bryn Mawr College67,41040,31523,081
46. University of Notre Dame67,44537,39028,406
47. Whitman College63,70432,95218,089
48. Kenyon College67,74039,89726,746
49. Wheaton College45,79620,62227,354
50. Colby College67,51543,90627,953


*For public colleges, the listed figure is total cost per year for out-of-state students.


Top 10 Values in Private Universities:

 

Total Cost
Per Year		Average Need- Based AidUndergrad Class Average Debt
1. Princeton University$61,140$47,497$8,908
2. Harvard University66,60948,59816,702
3. Duke University69,59847,13322,256
4. Vanderbilt University64,54241,33124,122
5. Rice University60,65836,77222,497
6. Dartmouth College69,78746,77017,849
7. Yale University70,57050,56513,625
8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology65,61241,76724,954
9. California Institute of Technology66,02741,90118,219
10. Stanford University66,18445,31821,987


Top 10 Values in Private Liberal Arts Colleges:

 

Total Cost
Per Year		Average Need- Based AidUndergrad Class Average Debt
1. Davidson College$64,903$41,998$20,431
2. Swarthmore College67,11045,53622,957
3. Pomona College68,12546,03918,738
4. Washington and Lee University63,88042,29226,397
5. Wellesley College67,78445,17813,415
6. Williams College68,50048,88515,496
7. Thomas Aquinas College32,50014,22516,986
8. Vassar College69,01047,17618,462
9. Amherst College69,50050,38018,662
10. Wesleyan University68,17042,45722,495

 

 

Top 10 Values in Public Colleges (for in-state students):

 

In-State CostOut-Of-
State Cost		Undergrad Class Average Debt
1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$22,165$47,748  $20,852
2. University of Florida17,50139,77921,645
3. University of Virginia29,32159,85624,598
4. University of Michigan27,07259,72225,712
5. University of California, Berkeley30,78058,79418,789
6. University of California, Los Angeles30,06658,08021,323
7. University of Washington23,91648,48021,900
8. University of Texas at Austin21,13047,47625,338
9. North Carolina State University20,99439,34221,507
10. University of Maryland, College Park23,73146,93827,559

For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact Kailey McGarvey at 646-695-7046 or Kailey@rosengrouppr.com

More on Methodology

The editors at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance start with data from nearly 1,200 public and private four-year schools, provided by Peterson’s. The list is then narrowed to the top schools based on measures of academic quality, including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four-year graduation rates. The editors then rank the schools using cost and financial aid measures. Academic quality carries more weight than costs.

About Kiplinger

For nine decades, the Kiplinger organization has led the way in personal finance and business forecasting. Founded in 1920 by W.M. Kiplinger, the company developed one of the nation’s first successful newsletters in modern times. The Kiplinger Letter, launched in 1923, remains the longest continuously published newsletter in the United States. In 1947, Kiplinger created the nation’s first personal finance magazine. Located in the heart of our nation’s capital, the Kiplinger editors remain dedicated to delivering sound, unbiased advice for your family and your business in clear, concise language. Become a fan of Kiplinger on Facebook or Kiplinger.com and follow Kiplinger on Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumblr.

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