The Princeton Review Has Released its "Best Value Colleges" for 2024: Rankings Name Schools in Seven Categories

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Jun 20, 2024, 09:00 ET

• Georgia Tech #1 Public Best Value College • MIT #1 Private Best Value College

NEW YORK, June 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Princeton Review^® — known for its education services and school rankings—today reported its 20th annual list of the nation's "Best Value Colleges."

The Best Value Colleges for 2024 names 209 schools as "Best Values" and recognizes top schools for various distinctions in seven ranking list categories. The school selections and tallies of the ranking lists are based on more than 40 data points that cover academics, affordability, and career outcomes of graduates.

The Princeton Review chose the schools for its 2024 list—134 of which are private and 75 of which are public—based on its surveys of administrators at 650 institutions in 2023-24. The survey of administrators requested information on the schools' academic offerings, cost, financial aid, career services, graduation rates, and student debt. The company also factored in data from its surveys of students attending the colleges and data from PayScale.com's surveys of alumni of the schools about their starting and mid-career salaries and job satisfaction.

In the main ranking category, Best Value Colleges overall, which names the top 50 public and top 50 private schools, Georgia Institute of Technology is the #1 Public Best Value College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the #1 Private Best Value College. The six other categories each name the top 20 public and the top 20 private schools. (The Princeton Review does not rank the schools overall from 1 to 209).

The Princeton Review has posted its Best Value Colleges for 2024 lists at https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/best-value-colleges. There, the company reports detailed information on the project's surveys, the methodology for the rankings, and the bases for each list. The Princeton Review's profiles of the schools show the ROI (Return on Investment) ratings the company editors tallied for them.

The Princeton Review's Seven Categories of Best Value Colleges Ranking Lists and the #1 Public / #1 Private Colleges on the Lists

• Best Value Colleges Overall
Public: Georgia Institute of Technology / Private: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Best Value Colleges for Financial Aid
Public: University of Virginia / Private: Yale University (CT)

• Best Value Colleges for Career Placement
Public: Georgia Institute of Technology / Private: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Best Value Colleges for Internships
Public: University of Michigan—Ann Arbor / Private: Northeastern University (MA)

• Best Value Colleges for Alumni Networks
Public: Penn State—University Park / Private: University of Notre Dame (IN)

• Best Value Colleges for Making an Impact
Public: University of Vermont / Private: Pitzer College (CA)

• Best Value Colleges for Students with No Demonstrated Need
Public: Georgia Institute of Technology / Private: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"We highly recommend the schools that made our Best Value Colleges lists for 2024" said Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Review. "They share three compelling distinctions. All provide outstanding academics. All support their undergraduates with stellar career services. All demonstrate impressive commitments to affordability via extremely generous financial aid for students with need and/or a comparatively low sticker price. Also, good news for students considering these schools: 42% of the colleges admit 50% or more of their applicants."

Among the 50 Public Best Value Colleges:

The average grant to students with need is $14,794.
The median starting salary of graduates is $72,247.
The mid-career salary of graduates is $130,608.

Among the 50 Private Best Value Colleges:

The average grant to students with need is $55,621.
The median starting salary of graduates is $82,388.
The mid-career salary of graduates is $152,490.

Franek noted the worries college applicants and parents have about college costs. "Among 10,800 applicants and parents of applicants we surveyed in February–March for our 2024 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 82% said financial aid would be 'very' or 'extremely' necessary to pay for the degree." He also noted the hopes among applicants and parents that their investment will produce a return. "Asked 'What would be the main benefit of earning a college degree?', the plurality (44%) of our respondents said, 'a potentially better job and higher income.' We hope our Best Value Colleges 2024 report will be a useful resource for applicants to identify, get accepted at, and get aid from the colleges that will be best for them."

Methodology

To curate its Best Value Colleges for 2024, The Princeton Review analyzed data from its surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges in 2023–24 on school academics, cost/financial aid, and career services, as well as on student debt and graduation rates. The company also factored in data from its surveys of students attending the schools (a practice that has informed nearly all Princeton Review school rankings since 1992), and data from PayScale.com's surveys of alumni of the schools about their starting- and mid-career salaries and job satisfaction. More than 40 data points were used to tally Return on Investment (ROI) ratings for the schools which determined the selection of schools on the list. Various data points from the surveys were used to tally the project's ranking lists. Information on the methodology, the criteria for the ROI rating, and the basis for each of the seven rankings is at https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/best-value-colleges/methodology.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admissions services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students as well as working professionals achieve their education and career goals through its many education services and products. These include online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review is now in its 43^rdyear. The company's Tutor.com brand, now in its 24^th year, is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 26 million tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com and the company's Media Center. Follow the company on X (formerly Twitter) (@ThePrincetonRev) and Instagram (@theprincetonreview).

WEBSITE: www.princetonreview.com

SOURCE The Princeton Review