University Named One of Top 75 'Best Values' Among Public Colleges by Princeton Review

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas has been recognized as one of the top 75 public schools on The Princeton Review’s “2013 Best Value Colleges” list, one of the latest in a string of evaluations that place the university among the best values in the United States.

“Rankings like these attempt to gauge the value of colleges and universities using a number of factors, from the cost of tuition to academic quality,” said Suzanne McCray, vice provost for enrollment management and dean of admissions. “Because so many criteria are used by different organizations, it speaks well of the U of A to be included in so many different best value rankings.”

The Princeton Review develops its list based on institutional and student surveys conducted at 650 colleges and universities. More than 30 factors are considered including academics, cost of attendance and financial aid. Only the top ten public schools were ranked by The Princeton Review. The other 65 public schools that made the top 75 list were listed in alphabetical order.

The university also recently received high marks from a new interactive website designed by the White House to help students and families decide which college or university is the best fit and provides the best value. The site, College Scorecard, launched last week with information about tuition costs, graduation rates, loan default rates and the average amount borrowed by students.

Earlier this year, the University of Arkansas was honored as one of the top 100 ‘Best Values in Public Colleges according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

Last year, the U of A ranked 44^th on Forbes’ annual “Top 100 Best Buy Colleges,” climbing 22 spots in the rankings in three years. According to Forbes, the University of Arkansas provides a better overall value than most Southeastern Conference members and many other public institutions in the region. Forbes calculates the “Top 100 Best Buy Colleges” list by taking a school’s overall quality rank on Forbes’ list of “America’s Top Colleges” and dividing that number by the amount of the school’s tuition and additional fees.

The university was also recognized last year as one of “America’s 100 Best College Buys” as a part of the 22^nd annual national college survey conducted by Institutional Research & Evaluation Inc.