University of Arizona students get their money’s worth for their education, according to the 2019 edition of The Princeton Review’s “The Best Value Colleges.”
Nearly 660 American schools were considered, and only 200 were featured in the book. According to the lead author and editor-in-chief at The Princeton Review, Robert Frank, that’s only 7 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges.
The Massachusetts-based education services company that publishes the guide is known for its test preparation courses, books and various student resources.
This is the fourth time the UA has made the cut in five years.
“Student success is at the core of the UA’s new strategic plan,” said UA President Robert Robbins in a prepared statement, “and we take immense pride in the fact that a degree from the University of Arizona is well worth the investment.”
The schools included in the book offered strong academics and career prospects for graduates while also being affordable either by sticker price or financial aid, according to the Review.
Schools were selected based on institutional and student surveys and from PayScale.com surveys on alumni career and salary statistics gathered between fall 2017 and fall 2018.
The Review used such things as academics, costs, financial aid, debt, graduation rates, career and earnings to choose the 200 included in the book.
Other Review rankings
While the “Best Value” schools are not ranked overall, the Review lists the top 20 colleges for each of the 62 ranking categories in “The 384 Best Colleges: 2019 Edition,” released last August.
In selected ranked categories, the UA earned the No. 4 spot for health services for students. The school was also highly ranked at No. 14 for popularity of college sports.
Students, however, were dissatisfied overall with the UA’s financial aid packages, earning it the 19th spot in the category of “financial aid not so great.”
Schools are also scored by different metrics on a 60 to 99 point scale. The UA received a 94 for campus sustainability, a 91 for fire safety, an 88 for quality of life, an 81 for admissions and an 80 for financial aid. Overall academics was scored a 78, in the “Best Colleges” edition.
