WM Named a 'Best Value' by Kiplinger's

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, January 04, 2012

The College of William and Mary was named Tuesday to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s list of the best academic values in the nation.

For the third year in a row, the magazine listed the college fourth on its list of 100 American public colleges and universities that combine “outstanding education and economic value.”

Kiplinger's chose the top 100 from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities. Kiplinger's weights academic quality over costs when compiling the list, according to the magazine. The list is initially narrowed to about 120 schools based on SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates. The schools are then ranked on cost and financial aid.

The University of North Carolina remained in Kiplinger’s top spot for the ranking, followed by the University of Florida and the University of Virginia. Other Virginia colleges made the list, including James Madison University (28th), Virginia Tech (32nd), University of Mary Washington (44th), George Mason University (50th) and Christopher Newport University (94th). The complete listing appears in the magazine’s February issue and online here.