The Best Value Colleges Of 2024

by: Meghan Marrin on August 25, 2024 | 1,562 Views

The Princeton Review is known for their education content, school rankings, and educational services. Each year, it releases their Best Value Colleges ranking. Now in its 20th year, the Best Value College ranking evaluates schools across seven categories ranging from financial aid to alumni networks.

According to The Princeton Review, the school scores were based on a mix of “40 data points that cover academics, affordability, and career outcomes of graduates.” The data originated from surveys conducted by The Princeton Review of administrators and students, as well as alumni surveys performed by PayScale.com.

Overall, The Princeton Review considered a whopping 209 schools, 134 of them private and 75 of them public. Public and private schools are ranked separately.

Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Review, commends the schools that made their Best Value Colleges lists for 2024.

“They share three compelling distinctions,” says Franek. “All provide outstanding academics. All support their undergraduates with stellar career services. All demonstrate impressive commitments to affordability via extremely generous financial aid for students with need and/or a comparatively low sticker price.”

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Courtesy photo)

TOP FIVE BEST VALUE PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLEGES

These schools received the Princeton Review’s highest rankings overall this year based on their ROI rating system, based on survey data from fall of 2023 through spring 2024. In order to select each school’s ranking, they weighed more than 40 data points considering each school’s academics, their affordability, and job placement rates for their graduates.

The top five public schools this year were the following:

  1. Georgia Institute of Technology
  2. University Of California – Berkeley
  3. University Of Virginia
  4. University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill o
  5. University Of California – Irvine

Among the top 50 Best Value schools, the average grant amount awarded to public school students was $14,794, the median starting salary came in at $72,247, and the mid-career salary of the graduates was $130,608.

The top five private schools this year:

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  2. Princeton University
  3. Stanford University
  4. Harvey Mudd College
  5. California Institute of Technology

When looking at the top 50 schools, the average amount of grant funds awarded to students with need was $55,621. Their median starting salary was $82,388, and their mid-career salary came out to $152,490.

Georgia Institute of Technology Scheller College of Business. Courtesy photo

TOP 5 BEST VALUE PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLEGES FOR STUDENTS WITH NO DEMONSTRATED NEED

This category is similar to the above overall ranking, but with the need-based aid data taken out of the equation.

The top five public schools this year were the following:

  1. Georgia Institute of Technology
  2. University of California – Berkeley
  3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  4. University of Virginia
  5. North Carolina State University

The top five private schools this year:

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  2. Harvey Mudd College
  3. Brigham Young University
  4. Stanford University
  5. California Institute Of Technology

Campus tour at the University of Notre Dame. The Golden Dome, or Main Building, is perhaps Notre Dame’s most iconic landmark on the University’s 1,200-acre campus in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Peter Ringenberg Photography)

TOP 5 BEST ALUMNI NETWORKS

 The Princeton Review based this ranking on the student’s reported ratings of alumni in terms of their visibility on campus.

The top five public schools this year were the following:

  1. Penn State University Park
  2. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
  3. Virginia Tech
  4. University of Texas at Austin
  5. Georgia Institute of Technology

The top five private schools this year:

  1. University of Notre Dame
  2. St. Lawrence University
  3. Hampden-Sydney College
  4. Wabash College
  5. Dartmouth College

Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business reported a dramatic decline in acceptance rate between 2021 and 2022, down more than 10 percentage points to 5.73%

TOP 5 BEST SCHOOLS FOR INTERNSHIPS

The Princeton Review based this ranking on student reports of the level of accessibility of internship placements at their schools.

The top five public schools this year were:

  1. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
  2. Michigan Technological University
  3. Penn State University Park
  4. Georgia Institute of Technology
  5. The University of Texas at Dallas

The top five private schools this year:

  1. Northeastern University
  2. Wabash College
  3. Hampden-Sydney College
  4. Harvey Mudd College
  5. St. Lawrence University

Students at Sather Gate at the University of California-Berkeley (© 2017 UC Regents, all rights reserved)

TOP 5 BEST SCHOOLS FOR CAREER PLACEMENT

The Princeton Review based this ranking on PayScale.com’s median starting and mid-career salary information for alumni and median starting salary and mid-career salary data from alumni.

The top five public schools this year were the following:

  1. Georgia Institute of Technology
  2. University of California – Berkeley
  3. Missouri University of Science and Technology
  4. University of Virginia
  5. The University of California – San Diego

The top five private schools this year:

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  2. Harvey Mudd College
  3. Stanford University
  4. Princeton University
  5. California Institute of Technology
2023’s Undergraduate Business Schools To Watch

University of Virginia, McIntire School Students. Photo by Amanda Maglione

TOP 5 BEST SCHOOLS FOR FINANCIAL AID

These schools received The Princeton Review’s highest financial aid ratings (which are based on…).

The top five public schools this year were the following:

  1. University of Virginia
  2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  3. New College of Florida
  4. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
  5. Truman State University

The top five private schools this year:

  1. Yale University
  2. Vassar College
  3. Williams College
  4. Pomona College
  5. California Institute of Technology

Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan Wolverines, was ranked the best small college town in America by WalletHub. Having a Division I sports team is one of the criteria the financial agency considers in its rankings.

TOP 5 BEST SCHOOLS FOR MAKING AN IMPACT

These schools were chosen based on the availability of community service opportunities at the school, student government, sustainability efforts, and on-campus student engagement. They also considered data from alumni that reported having meaningful jobs.

The top five public schools this year were the following:

  1. University of Vermont
  2. University of Washington
  3. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
  4. St. Mary’s College of Maryland
  5. Georgia Institute of Technology

The top five private schools this year:

  1. Pitzer College
  2. Agnes Scott College
  3. Emory University
  4. Allegheny College
  5. Earlham College

As a whole, The Princeton Review data showed that private school provided $55,621 as the average grant for a student in need, nearly four times higher than public school ($14,794). Private school graduates also achieved higher average median starting salaries than their median counterparts ($82,388 vs. $72,247). That trend continued into mid-career, where private school grads earned over $22,000 more in median salary ($152,490 vs. $130,608).

To view the full list of ranked schools, please click here.

For details about the methodology, please click here.

DON’T MISS: POETS&QUANTS’ BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS OF 2024