THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508310408
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
For a third year running, tiny New College of the University of South Florida ranks as the nation's best college value, according to a Money magazine survey released Wednesday.
Despite heat and humidity, which Money says have shocked many of its 560-odd students, the Sarasota university gets overall high marks in Money's list of the top 100 schools.
High academic standards and its attractive bayside campus aside, the liberal arts college is affordable, Money says. Tuition increased just $7 this year for out-of-state freshmen to $7,950, compared with an average tuition increase of 6.5 percent nationwide.
A member of the University of South Florida system, New College charges Floridians just $2,066 in annual tuition.
Rice University, the Texas school that boasts the 10th largest endowment in the nation, ranks as No. 2 for the third straight year, Money reports in its special issue, ``Money Guide: Your Best College Buys Now.''
Northeast Missouri State University is third, followed by New Jersey's Trenton State College and, at No. 5, the California Institute of Technology.
Rounding out the top 10 are University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, State University of New York at Binghamton, Georgia's Spelman College, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and State University of New York at Albany.
Although no Virginia schools broke Money's Top 10, seven made it into the best 100 college buys. James Madison University, ranked 18, topped the Virginia list, followed by the University of Virginia at No. 26 and Mary Washington College at No. 28.
Other highly ranked Virginia schools were Washington and Lee University, 33; Emory and Henry College, 42; the College of William & Mary, 50; and Virginia Tech, 78.
``Seven of Money's 10 best college values are public schools, up from six a year ago,'' the magazine says.
``This is great news for students who live in the same states as these schools, because their families will pay bargain in-state rates that are even lower than the fees for out-of-state students on which our rankings are based.''
Money's list of best buys was garnered by looking at 16 measures of educational quality - like entrance exam results, faculty deployment and four-year graduation rates - and comparing them with tuition and fees.
The magazine says its ranking excludes colleges with strong religious requirements.
Besides the top 10, some big names appear lower down on Money's list. Harvard University ranks 43rd, Yale University is 46th and Columbia University is 97th.
No. 100 is Pomona College in California. ILLUSTRATION: THE DEAN'S LIST OF DEALS
The top 10 college values in the nation, according to a study by
Money magazine, and selected others:
[For a copy of the list, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB