Kiplinger has named 2016’s Top 300 Best College Values. Introduced in 1998, the rankings combine public schools, private universities and private liberal arts colleges into a single, comprehensive list. In addition, Kiplinger has ranked the top 100 best values in each category.
Washington and Lee University took the #1 spot on the overall list, followed by Princeton and Harvard. Princeton took first place for private universities. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was ranked best public college for the 15th consecutive time with UVA running a close second. Davidson College earned second place, after Washington and Lee, for best liberal arts college.
The full rankings are now available online at Kiplinger.com/links/college and will appear in print in the February 2016 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, on newsstands January 5.
“We start with a universe of 1,200 schools, so each school on our rankings, from number 1 to number 300, is a best value,” said Janet Bodnar, Editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. “Families can use the list as a starting point and then tailor it to each student’s preference for such things as size, location, campus culture and major.”
At Kiplinger.com, visitors have access to the “Find the Best College for You” tool and other tools that let readers sort by admission rate, average debt at graduation and other criteria for all schools, plus in-state and out-of-state cost for public universities. Also online: slide shows of the top ten schools in different categories, archives of past years’ rankings and an FAQ on the ranking methodology.
Kiplinger assesses value by measurable standards of academic quality and affordability. Quality measures include the admission rate, the percentage of students who return for sophomore year, the student-faculty ratio and four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include sticker price, financial aid and average debt at graduation.
Below are highlights from this year’s rankings, including the top 50 overall values and each category’s top 10 schools.
Top 50 Overall College Values:
| Total Cost Per Year* | Average Need-Based Aid Per Year | Average Debt at Graduation | |
| 1. Washington and Lee | $59,202 | $41,472 | $23,224 |
| 2. Princeton University | 58,660 | 42,097 | 6,600 |
| 3. Harvard University | 61,659 | 44,430 | 15,117 |
| 4. Davidson College | 61,119 | 37,170 | 22,000 |
| 5. Swarthmore College | 62,690 | 40,314 | 21,866 |
| 6. Vanderbilt University | 61,470 | 39,953 | 20,790 |
| 7. Rice University | 56,703 | 34,954 | 22,241 |
| 8. Pomona College | 63,670 | 41,443 | 16,273 |
| 9. Yale University | 63,250 | 45,710 | 14,853 |
| 10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 46,017 | 14,791 | 18,945 |
| 11. Duke University | 64,593 | 41,910 | 20,556 |
| 12. Kenyon College | 62,930 | 38,039 | 20,323 |
| 13. Williams College | 64,090 | 43,689 | 14,170 |
| 14. Wesleyan University | 64,078 | 41,532 | 22,959 |
| 15. California Institute of Technology | 60,084 | 37,557 | 12,104 |
| 16. Middlebury College | 62,456 | 39,238 | 17,975 |
| 17. Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 61,434 | 37,090 | 19,064 |
| 18. Grinnell College | 59,298 | 37,153 | 16,315 |
| 19. Colgate University | 63,580 | 41,428 | 21,405 |
| 20. Amherst College | 64,772 | 47,243 | 14,490 |
| 21. Stanford University | 61,852 | 41,620 | 19,230 |
| 22. Thomas Aquinas College | 32,500 | 15,755 | 16,263 |
| 23. Emory University | 60,668 | 37,657 | 24,741 |
| 24. University of Richmond | 60,310 | 37,199 | 22,550 |
| 25. Vassar College | 64,230 | 43,094 | 17,476 |
| 26. Haverford College | 65,410 | 42,621 | 15,540 |
| 27. Dartmouth College | 65,094 | 42,263 | 21,533 |
| 28. Bowdoin College | 62,190 | 38,978 | 25,503 |
| 29. Wellesley College | 62,140 | 39,988 | 12,956 |
| 30. Carleton College | 62,846 | 34,050 | 18,302 |
| 31. Brown University | 63,496 | 40,917 | 24,300 |
| 32. Hamilton College | 63,370 | 38,762 | 18,941 |
| 33. University of Pennsylvania | 64,776 | 40,044 | 19,442 |
| 34. Bates College | 63,340 | 38,921 | 18,929 |
| 35. Cornell University | 63,684 | 37,559 | 21,411 |
| 36. Hillsdale College | 35,552 | 7,905 | 25,502 |
| 37. Colorado College | 61,459 | 38,469 | 19,756 |
| 38. Colby College | 62,462 | 41,033 | 21,958 |
| 39. Wheaton College | 43,270 | 20,255 | 25,939 |
| 40. Barnard College | 63,891 | 38,842 | 17,660 |
| 41. Macalester College | 60,879 | 34,527 | 24,156 |
| 42. University of Virginia | 55,644 | 19,406 | 22,933 |
| 43. Smith College | 62,558 | 38,417 | 24,758 |
| 44. Whitman College | 59,102 | 28,484 | 19,147 |
| 45. Northwestern University | 65,603 | 37,674 | 19,864 |
| 46. University of Notre Dame | 62,825 | 33,025 | 26,674 |
| 47. Georgetown University | 64,385 | 36,878 | 22,464 |
| 48. College of the Holy Cross | 60,624 | 32,207 | 28,354 |
| 49. Claremont McKenna College | 65,225 | 40,438 | 23,232 |
| 50. Harvey Mudd College | 68,055 | 35,637 | 24,503 |
*For public colleges, the listed figure is total cost per year for out-of-state students.
Top 10 Values in Private Universities:
| Total Cost Per Year | Average Need-Based Aid Per Year | Average Debt at Graduation | |
| 1. Princeton University | $58,660 | $42,097 | $6,600 |
| 2. Harvard University | 61,659 | 44,430 | 15,117 |
| 3. Vanderbilt University | 61,470 | 39,953 | 20,790 |
| 4. Rice University | 56,703 | 34,954 | 22,241 |
| 5. Yale University | 63,250 | 45,710 | 14,853 |
| 6. Duke University | 64,593 | 41,910 | 20,556 |
| 7. California Institute of Technology | 60,084 | 37,557 | 12,104 |
| 8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 61,434 | 37,090 | 19,064 |
| 9. Stanford University | 61,852 | 41,620 | 19,230 |
| 10. Emory University | 60,668 | 37,657 | 24,741 |
Top 10 Values in Private Liberal Arts Colleges:
| Total Cost Per Year | Average Need-Based Aid Per Year | Average Debt at Graduation | |
| 1. Washington and Lee | $59,202 | $41,472 | $23,224 |
| 2. Davidson College | 61,119 | 37,170 | 22,000 |
| 3. Swarthmore College | 62,690 | 40,314 | 21,866 |
| 4. Pomona College | 63,670 | 41,443 | 16,273 |
| 5. Kenyon College | 62,930 | 38,039 | 20,323 |
| 6. Williams College | 64,090 | 43,689 | 14,170 |
| 7. Wesleyan University | 64,078 | 41,532 | 22,959 |
| 8. Middlebury College | 62,456 | 39,238 | 17,975 |
| 9. Grinnell College | 59,298 | 37,153 | 16,315 |
| 10. Colgate University | 63,580 | 41,428 | 21,405 |
Top 10 Values in Public Colleges for In-State Students:
| In-State Total Cost | Average Need-Based Aid Per Year* | Average Debt at Graduation* | |
| 1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $20,935 | $14,791 | $18,945 |
| 2. University of Florida | 17,331 | 6,778 | 20,642 |
| 3. University of Virginia | 26,348 | 19,406 | 22,933 |
| 4. University of California, Berkeley | 30,093 | 22,135 | 17,584 |
| 5. University of Michigan | 25,458 | 15,050 | 26,510 |
| 6. University of California, Los Angeles | 29,266 | 18,806 | 20,759 |
| 7. University of Maryland, College Park | 22,098 | 8,656 | 25,131 |
| 8. University of Wisconsin–Madison | 20,419 | 9,890 | 26,579 |
| 9. University of Washington | 24,355 | 15,000 | 21,532 |
| 10. College of William and Mary | 31,650 | 13,914 | 25,733 |
*Figures represent both in-state and out-of-state students.
Top 10 Values in Public Colleges for Out-Of-State Students:
| Out-Of-State Total Cost | Average Need Based Aid Per Year* | Average Debt at Graduation* | |
| 1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $46,017 | $14,791 | $18,945 |
| 2. University of Virginia | 55,644 | 19,406 | 22,933 |
| 3. University of Florida | 39,609 | 6,778 | 20,642 |
| 4. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus | 32,524 | 9,388 | 26,796 |
| 5. Truman State University | 23,475 | 6,794 | 23,585 |
| 6. University of California, Berkeley | 54,801 | 22,135 | 17,584 |
| 7. College of William and Mary | 53,350 | 13,914 | 25,733 |
| 8. University of Wisconsin–Madison | 39,669 | 9,890 | 26,579 |
| 9. North Carolina State University, Raleigh | 36,319 | 10,015 | 20,482 |
| 10. University of California, Los Angeles | 53,974 | 18,806 | 20,759 |
*Figures represent both in-state and out-of-state students.