Once again, college selective guide publications have recognized the University of Mary Washington among the nation’s best colleges, ranking the University for exceptional value, low student debt and superior academic programs.
Among them, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine named UMW to its list of the 300 Best College Values for 2018. The University also was rated among the publication’s top 100 best value public colleges.
“Our rankings, which weigh affordability alongside academic quality, are a great resource for students and their parents when sorting through college choices,” said Mark Solheim, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. “We start with a universe of nearly 1,200 schools and trim the list using measures of academic quality. We then rank the schools based on cost and financial aid data. All 300 schools on our list are worth a look.”
In addition, a study by The Student Loan Report has ranked the University as No. 5 in Virginia with the lowest student debt per graduate. Mary Washington was highlighted for leaving its graduates with low levels of student loan debt. The report draws from Peterson’s Financial Aid dataset, covering the most recent student debt data from the Class of 2016.
In yet another ranking, the college resource guide Schools.com rated UMW’s English program as No. 3 in the country. Only the English programs at Marlboro College in Vermont and Truman State University in Missouri were ranked higher. Schools.com scores each school using multiple factors, including affordability, flexibility and student success. To view the ranking, go to http://www.schools.com/programs/english.
UMW’s English program isn’t the only academic program to receive kudos. Last fall, College Factual/USA Today recognized Mary Washington’s English program among the nation’s top 15 percent and UMW’s geography program in the nation’s top 10 percent, No. 1 in the Southeastern region.
In addition, SmartAsset, a data-analysis firm specializing in personal finance, ranked UMW as one of the best colleges for the money. The firm recognized Virginia as the No. 1 state for providing college value and listed UMW among the top 10 best value colleges in the state.
For the nationwide study of four-year colleges and universities, SmartAsset evaluated five factors, including tuition, student-living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, retention rate and starting salaries for new graduates.
I went to a small private school in the midwest that would cost my daughter almost $50k/yr to attend. It’s nice to know that there is a local public university that promotes the value of an education – not on the financial price the student pays to attend, but on the financial health of the student when they leave. Well done UMW!