For Immediate Release: January 5, 2007
KIPLINGER’S MAGAZINE LISTS UMW AMONG NATION’S BEST VALUES
Fredericksburg, Va. – The University of Mary Washington is listed among Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s “100 Best Values in Public Colleges,” for 2007. The university has moved up two positions, from 22nd to 20th, since the 2006 Kiplinger 100 list was published last February.
The magazine ranks schools on their combined academic excellence and affordability, with more emphasis placed on academics. Of the 500 schools evaluated, the list is narrowed to 120 based on several measures of academic quality – including the percentage of the 2005–06 freshman class scoring 600 or higher on the verbal and math components of the SAT (or scoring 24 or higher on the ACT), admission and retention rates, student/faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates. Each school also is ranked on cost and financial aid, including out-of-state numbers.
The University of Mary Washington is the 20th “best value” when using in-state tuition costs to calculate the listing. The university placed as the 11th “best value” when comparing out-of-state tuition costs. The list can be found in the February issue of the magazine.
Other Virginia schools that were ranked include The College of William and Mary (3rd), the University of Virginia (4th), Virginia Tech (18th), James Madison University (21st) and George Mason University (78th). The number one in-state school was The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In recent years, the University of Mary Washington has seen its academic reputation gain national recognition through consistently high rankings in several selective college guidebooks including U.S. News & World Report, The Fiske Guide to Colleges and Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges and Universities.
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News release prepared by: Amy Jessee