Hollins University has been named to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance‘s list of the Top 300 Best College Values of 2017. Introduced in 1998, the rankings now combine public schools, private universities, and private liberal arts colleges into a single, comprehensive list. Kiplinger also ranked the top 100 best values in each category.
The school earned the #97 spot on the magazine’s list of 100 best values in private liberal arts colleges. Hollins is one of only four Virginia colleges and universities to make the category’s top 100, joining Washington and Lee University, the University of Richmond, and Christendom College.
“There’s no way around it: College is expensive, and it’s going to stay that way for a long time. So, with our rankings – which weigh affordability alongside academic quality – our goal is to help students and their parents understand what’s really worth the price,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. “While some may have ranked higher than others, all 300 schools on the list are of extraordinary value, being chosen out of a universe of 1,200.”
Kiplinger’s quality measures, which are weighted more heavily than cost, include the admission rate, the percentage of students who return for sophomore year, the student-faculty ratio, and the four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include sticker price, financial aid, and average debt at graduation. Kiplinger restricts its analysis to measurable standards of academic quality and affordability.
The complete rankings will appear in print in the February 2017 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, on newsstands January 3.
