By Colleen Murphy
News Editor
For the 10th year in a row, the College has been included on Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s “Best Values in Public Colleges” list.
This year, out of the 100 four-year colleges on the list, the College was ranked as the 23rd most valuable public college in the nation for in-state students. It was ahead of the four other New Jersey public schools included on the list: Rutgers University — New Brunswick (43rd), Ramapo College (82nd), Rowan University (85th) and Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (100th).
Kiplinger also ranked the College as the 16th best valuable public college for out-of-state students.
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was ranked number one for both in-state and out-of-state tuition while the University of Virginia was second in both areas.
According to Kiplinger’s website, “Unlike other college rankings, ours are based entirely on measurable criteria, such as student-faculty ratios, admission rates, on-time graduation rate, sticker price and financial aid. Neither our opinion nor anyone else’s affects the calculation.”
The company uses a formula of accounting the quality of the school as 55 percent of the total score and cost criteria as 45 percent of the ranking.
The list cites the College as having a 43 percent admission rate, as well as a 73 percent four-year graduation rate, which were both factors in the College’s ranking.
Additionally, the College was ranked as the 89th best value college in the nation. This list of 300 schools included both public and private colleges. Princeton University took the top spot on this list.
Kiplinger’s rankings came out just several months after the College was named one of the costliest public colleges in the nation by the U.S. Department of Education. In that list, which was released in July, the College was ranked the ninth most expensive state college, with a tuition rate almost twice the national average of $7,407, according to a July 6 article from The Star-Ledger.
Kiplinger factored student debt after graduation into its ranking of colleges with the best value, and students at the College can expect to have an average of $32,362 of debt.
In response to the earlier U.S. Department of Education ranking, David Muha, the vice president for communication, marketing and brand management, pointed out to The Star-Ledger that the College’s high ranking on lists like Kiplinger’s is what makes the school worth the price. His words also echo the financial and quality formula Kiplinger uses to choose its ‘Best Values’ colleges.
“With consistently strong outcomes and the fifth highest four-year graduation rate in the country among public institutions, TCNJ delivers the kind of education typically associated with highly-regarded private institutions, but at a fraction of the cost,” Muha said.
