New College of Florida Ranked #12 on Kiplinger’s List of “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” for 2010
Students and parents looking to get the most bang for their buck in a college education got some good news today, as the editors of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance released their annual list of “100 Best Values in Public Colleges.” For 2010, Sarasota-based New College of Florida, the state honors college for the liberal arts and sciences, placed #12 overall on the list.
The rankings appear in the February 2010 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, which is available on newsstands starting on Tuesday, January 5. The rankings can also be found online by visiting Kiplinger’s website at www.kiplinger.com.
This year marked the seventh consecutive time that New College has placed among the nation’s top 20 public colleges overall on the Kiplinger’s list. New College also placed strongly in a number of individual categories, including a #1 ranking for the lowest cost of in-state attendance after aid and a #2 ranking for the highest percentage of first-year students scoring above 700 on the verbal section of the SAT exam.
“The Kiplinger’s list is a helpful way of drawing attention to what we offer at New College – small classes, strong faculty mentoring and many opportunities for independent study, all at a very reasonable cost,” said New College President Mike Michalson in announcing this year’s strong showing.
Overall, it was a banner year for Florida schools in general on the Kiplinger’s list, with five of the state’s public colleges and universities placing in the top 100. Joining New College on this year’s list were the University of Florida (#2), Florida State University (#17), University of Central Florida (#36) and the University of South Florida (#60). The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill once again topped the Kiplinger’s list.
“Despite widespread state government budget cuts and shrinking endowments, this year’s top 100 public schools continue to deliver strong academics at reasonable prices,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s. “In fact, in many cases, these institutions are offering the same or more financial aid as in previous years.”
At New College, for example, the total cost of attendance for Florida residents once financial aid was factored in was a modest $4,522. That placed New College at the top of the Kiplinger’s list in that category.
But while the cost of in-state and out-of-state attendance is one of the key factors examined by Kiplinger’s, the magazine’s editors are quick to point out that their rankings are not strictly a matter of dollars and cents. Schools included on the list also must exhibit exceptional academics.
Both the College of William and Mary and New College of Florida, for example, ranked #1 and #2 in the country for having the highest percentage of first-year students scoring above 700 on the verbal section of the SAT, 41% and 39% respectively, as well as #1 and #3 for having the highest percentage of first-year students scoring above 30 on the ACT (William and Mary 58%, New College 41%).
Here is a look at this year’s Top 20 Best Values in Public Colleges, as ranked by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance:
1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2. University of Florida
3. University of Virginia
4. College of William and Mary (Va.)
5. Binghamton University (SUNY)
6. University of Georgia
7. University of Washington
8. University of Maryland, College Park
9. SUNY Geneseo
10. North Carolina State University
11. University of California, San Diego
12. New College of Florida
13. University of California, Los Angeles
14. University of Wisconsin–Madison
15. Georgia Institute of Technology
16. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ.
17. Florida State University
18. University of California, Berkeley
19. University of Michigan
20. University of California, Irvine
For more information on New College of Florida and this year’s Kiplinger’s Personal Finance rankings of the nation’s “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” contact the Office of Public Affairs at (941) 487-4150 or email [email protected].