No four year college education is cheap these days. With national tuition rates for public universities increasing nearly 4% a year, it’s outpacing both inflation and cost of living increases. So the best college value becomes more and more important in deciding an academic career.
Kiplinger has once again released their list of the top 100 best value public colleges. While the cost of tuition is obviously important in determining the rankings, it is by far from the only or most important factor. Some of the other statistics factored into the rankings include test scores, graduation rates, and financial aid.
It’s not surprising to see who wound up on the top of the heap. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has earned the number one spot on Kiplinger’s list eleven times before this. Annual in-state tuition is very competitively priced at roughly $7,700 a year. Total out of pocket expenses including room and board is approximately $22,300 a year before financial aid.
UNC is one of very few schools who are also able to provide the full cost of a student’s education and living. Typically, 65% of total costs are covered through grants and the remaining 35% through loans without having to resort to outside private loans.
In large part to the simplified and affordable financing, students are more likely to focus on their academic careers. This is reflected in the schools 4-year graduation rate of 77%, drastically higher than the national average, a paltry 32%. While the debt of a graduating student of UNC will be roughly $17,500 dollars, the many student across the country will walk away from school with an equal amount of debt and no degree to show for it.
Getting a solid education for an affordable price isn’t an easy task though. Acceptance to UNC is dependent on good planning and hard work, as seven out of ten applications are denied each year.
It must be noted that while an excellent value historically, budget cuts still threaten UNC much like they have other universities around the country. Tuition rates have increased 7% annually for the last four years, nearly twice the rate of other schools.