U.Va., William & Mary rank first and fourth in best college values list

Published August 7, 2013 by Robert Powell, III

The University of Virginia and the College of William & Mary ranked first and fourth among the Princeton Review’s list of top 10 best values for public colleges.

Six other Virginia universities were listed among the publication’s 75 best values for public colleges: Christopher Newport, George Mason, James Madison, Longwood, Radford and Virginia Tech.

The University of Richmond made Princeton’s list of 75 best values for private colleges.

Only one other state, North Carolina, had two schools in among the top 10 public colleges. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was second to U.Va., while North Carolina State University was sixth.

The lists are based on data collected from fall 2011 through fall 2012 through institutional and student surveys. The publication weighted more than 30 measurements including academics, costs and financial aid.

Princeton Review also considered the percentage of graduating seniors with student loans and the average debt of students at graduation.

The top 10 public schools included:

1. U.Va.
2. UNC-Chapel Hill
3. New College of Florida
4. William & Mary
5. University of California- Los Angeles (UCLA)
6. N.C. State
7. University of Wisconsin-Madison
8. State University of New York at Binghamton
9. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
10. University of Georgia

Top 10 private schools

1. Swarthmore College
2. Harvard College
3. Williams College
4. Princeton University
5. Pomona College
6. Yale University
7. Rice University
8. Hamilton College
9. Claremont McKenna College
10. Grinnell College