The Princeton Review And USA TODAY Present The Princeton Review's List Of "Best Value Colleges For 2013"

NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Princeton Review today released its annual list of the nation's "Best Value Colleges" – a project the education services company originated in 2004 and has reported since 2009 with USA TODAY. 

The 2013 list identifies 150 colleges (75 public and 75 private) The Princeton Review designates as "Best Values" based on assessments that examined more than 30 data points covering academics, cost, and financial aid.  The Company chose the 150 schools from 650 colleges and universities at which it conducted institutional and student surveys for this project in 2011-12.

While The Princeton Review does not rank its 150 "Best Value" colleges overall, it reports the top 10 schools in each group: public and private.  The University of Virginia is the #1 "Best Value Public College."  Swarthmore is the #1 "Best Value Private College."  The list features schools in 35 states and DC.  California has the most colleges represented (19), followed by New York (18), and Massachusetts (14).

The Princeton Review's "Best Value Colleges" list appears in two free online resources and a companion book released today. Today, The Princeton Review posted its list and profiles of the schools at http://www.princetonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx, and USA TODAY posted an exclusive "Best Value Colleges" interactive database at a dedicated area on USATODAY.com: http://bestvaluecolleges.usatoday.com.  There, users can access detailed information about each college and sort the list several ways including by state, tuition, enrollment, and average freshman grant.

The Princeton Review's companion book – The Best Value Colleges: The 150 Best-Buy Schools and What It Takes to Get In (2013 Edition, Random House / Princeton Review, $21.99, February 5) – is available now in bookstores and via online booksellers. The 450-page book has detailed profiles of the colleges and advice for applicants to get admitted to – and get financial aid from – the schools.

The Princeton Review's "Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges for 2013"

1. University of Virginia (Charlottesville)
2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
3. New College of Florida (Sarasota)
4. College of William & Mary (Williamsburg VA)
5. Univ. of California – Los Angeles
6. North Carolina State University (Raleigh)
7. University of Wisconsin (Madison)
8. State University of New York at Binghamton
9. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
10. University of Georgia (Athens)

The Princeton Review's "Top 10 Best Value Private Colleges for 2013"

1. Swarthmore College (Swarthmore PA)
2. Harvard College (Cambridge MA)
3. Williams College (Williamstown MA)
4. Princeton University (Princeton NJ)
5. Pomona College (Claremont CA)
6. Yale University (New Haven CT)
7. Rice University (Houston TX)
8. Hamilton College (Clinton NY)
9. Claremont McKenna College (Claremont CA)
10. Grinnell College (Grinnell IA)

Said Robert Franek, Princeton Review's Senior VP/Publisher and lead author, The Best Value Colleges, "We commend these colleges for their stellar academics and their exceptional affordability as evidenced by their generous financial aid awards or their comparatively low sticker prices—or both."  Among the Princeton Review's "2013 Top 10 Public Best Value Colleges," the average cost of attendance for in-state students is about $8,300 (after deducting the average grants awarded to students with need).  Among the Company's "2013 Top 10 Private Best Value Colleges," the average cost of attendance is about $17,600 (after deducting the average grants to students with need).

The Best Value Colleges profiles provide information on each school's application requirements, admission data (acceptance rates and average SAT/ACT scores of enrolled freshmen), costs, financial aid, graduation rates, and graduates' loan debt.  The book also has profiles of 10 tuition-free colleges.  The book is one of 150 Princeton Review titles published by Random House. Others include The Best 377 Colleges, widely-known for its college rankings in 62 categories (http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings.aspx), and Paying For College Without Going Broke, the only financial aid guide with line-by-line guidance for submitting the major aid application forms for the upcoming school year.

The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.

About The Princeton Review 
Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review (www.PrincetonReview.com) is a privately held education services company headquartered in Framingham, MA. The Company has long been a leader in helping students achieve their education and career goals through its test preparation services, tutoring and admissions resources, online courses, and more than 150 print and digital books published by Random House, Inc. The Princeton Review delivers its programs via a network of more than 5,000 teachers and tutors in the U.S.A., Canada, and international franchises. The Company also partners with schools and guidance counselors worldwide to provide students with college readiness, test preparation and career planning services.  

About USA TODAY 
USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Through its unique visual storytelling, USA TODAY delivers high-quality and engaging content across print, digital, social and video platforms. An innovator of news and information, USA TODAY reflects the pulse of the nation and serves as the host of the American conversation -- today, tomorrow and for decades to follow. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of nearly 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 6.6 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than 16 million downloads on mobile devices. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

WEBSITES 
http://www.princetonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx 
http://bestvaluecolleges.usatoday.com

SOURCE The Princeton Review