A Reputation on the Rise

A four-year education from the University of Mary Washington is becoming an even better deal, according to “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” published by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

UMW advanced six places in the national magazine’s best-value rankings, rising from the 20th slot last year to 14th in the recently released 2008 standings.

The Kiplinger organization, which created the nation’s first personal finance magazine, is a leader in financial forecasting. Its annually released college rankings emphasize academic quality, which counts for two-thirds of each school’s total score. Affordability accounts for the remaining third.

The magazine starts with data that more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities furnish to Peterson’s, a leading search provider of colleges, universities, graduate schools, online degrees, and other educational opportunities.

The schools are then evaluated based on such factors as SAT scores, admission and graduation rates, and student-faculty ratios. Financial aid, amount of debt at graduation, and other determinants also are considered. 

Most of the colleges in Kiplinger’s top 50 claim enrollments of more than 10,000. Just a handful of schools on the list, including Mary Washington, have fewer than 6,000 students.

The University’s consistently high rankings in selective college guidebooks have gained national attention. Other publications that have given top ratings to UMW include the Fiske Guide to Colleges, Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges and Universities, U.S. News & World Report, and The Princeton Review.