FINANCIAL AID - BANG FOR THE BUCK

MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK

By Veronica Toney

Picking the right college or university is not as easy as simply choosing an institution. With tuition rates, school fees and room and board costs rising 38 percent in the last decade, money is playing a large role in the college-decision process. This is why many college guides, such as U.S. News and World Report, The Princeton Review and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, conduct Best Value surveys.

Best Value indicates schools that blend academics with affordable price tags. The Princeton Review uses three ratings–academic, financial aid and tuition GPA–to calculate a school’s value. Researchers find the academic rating by combining the students’ opinions about their education with admissions and other statistics reported by each school. The admissions statistics tell future students how difficult it is to get into each school.

To determine the financial aid rating, researchers ask the school the amount of aid it awards students. Then they ask students who receive financial aid how happy they are with their award packages.

To calculate the tuition GPA, researchers examine a number of elements. First, they find the schools’ price by adding the tuition, required fees and room and board. Once they find that number, researchers subtract the average financial aid package amount. Second they look at the school’s statistics on the percentage of graduating seniors who borrowed money and the average amount of debt they had at graduation. According to The Princeton Review Web site, they take these three figures and “cook it up with an algorithm based on the idea that ‘bang for your buck’ means excellent academics, great financial aid and low tuition.” The Princeton Review ranked Rice University in Houston the number one best value private college in its 2008 edition. Kiplinger’s voted it number four. “We are proud to have Rice University singled out for both the high quality of education offered here and the university’s track record for meeting students’ need for financial aid,” President David Leebron says. “We are equally committed to investing in the quality of the educational experience here and assuring, through our financial aid policies, that this outstanding educational opportunity is accessible to all regardless of their family’s financial circumstances.”

New College of Florida earned the number one ranking for public colleges. “The attraction to New College is that it’s an elite liberal arts college with an 11 to 1 student-teacher ratio, for the cost of going to a public college or university,” says Jake Hartvigsen of New College. “We have 750 students at our school. We would be lost if it weren’t for these types of recognitions.”

U.S. News and World Report uses a process similar to The Princeton Review. Their researchers look at the ratio of quality to price. U.S. News and World Report only reports the top half of national institutions and the top quarter of regional schools because they believe the best values are found among college that are above average academically.

U.S. News and World Report ranked The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma the number one public college in the West for five straight years. “We’ve had some degree of ranking since the mid-1990s,” says USAO President John Feaver. “We’re the oldest public liberal arts school in the U.S. Our emphasis is on the breath of learning so students have options when they graduate. It’s suited for the complexity of life and future career paths.”

These schools are redefining the markings of a quality school. High-quality education no longer has to come with a high price tag. “It’s essential for parents and students to use these lists as a tool,” Hartvigsen says. “They should try to visit the campus, sit in on classes, meet the faculty and the students. In the end, education is about so much more then what it costs.”

*Story from Fall 07 issue