Va. schools fare well in magazines’  rankings of college bargains

The University of Virginia offers students the best value among the nation’s public universities, and the College of William and Mary is ranked third in The Princeton Review’s ranking of “Best Value Colleges for 2009.“

The rankings released today are based on surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 public and private colleges and universities.

“Few schools can match University of Virginia’s potent combination of phenomenal faculty, intelligent students, remarkable intercollegiate sports and extraordinary academics,“ the report said.

Virginia schools also fared well in a second ranking. According to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, students can find plenty of bargains in Virginia.

The magazine’s list of the 100 best values in public education for 2008-09 features six Virginia schools, including two of the top five.

U.Va. checks in at No. 3 overall, with a total cost of $18,460 for in-state students.

W&M, which has an in-state cost of $19,156, was ranked fifth by the magazine.

Of the magazine’s 100 top schools, led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, fewer than two dozen cost more than $20,000 a year for in-state students.

In calculating the relative size of the bargain, the magazine took into account such factors as the schools’ costs, four-year graduation rates, students’ average debt at graduation, admission rates and student/faculty ratios.

Other Virginia schools that made the top 100 were Virginia Tech, at No. 15, the University of Mary Washington at No. 23, James Madison University at No. 28 and George Mason University at No. 46.

George Mason climbed from No. 77 in the magazine’s previous ranking as a result of improving its test scores and moving more graduates across the stage in four and six years.