Posted by: Richie Bernardo

Size matters when it comes to higher education. That’s generally true when choosing between colleges and universities. Although the term “college” is used broadly to refer to post-secondary education in the U.S., it’s more narrowly defined as a smaller institution than a large university. It also may be one of several colleges within a university system. There are exceptions, however, such as Boston College, Dartmouth College and the College of William & Mary, which hold university status but prefer to retain the “college” designation in their names.

But there are other differences that set the two types of institutions apart. Unlike universities, which offer both undergraduate and graduate study programs, colleges primarily confer bachelor’s degrees and often don’t churn out advanced degrees. Class, campus and enrollment sizes are relatively smaller — preferable for students who seek more intimate social settings and more focused attention from instructors. In the absence of research programs and facilities typically present at universities, many colleges also compete with more specialized areas of instruction, such as technical or agricultural colleges.

Smaller, however, doesn’t necessarily equate with inferior. In fact, universities today are facing stiffer competition from rival colleges. For those considering attending a college, WalletHub’s analysts compared more than 100 such institutions across 27 key measures to determine where prospective students can expect to receive top-notch education at the lowest price points. Our data set — grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost & Financing and Career Outcomes — ranges from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary.

Read on for our findings, a ranking by region and a full description of our methodology. For insight into the most important financial issues facing college students today, check out WalletHub’s expert Q&A below the ranking results. Separate comparisons for universities as well as for colleges and universities combined also are available on WalletHub.

1. Main Findings
2. Rankings by Region
3. Ask the Experts
4. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/40748/geochart-undergrad-college.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://ift.tt/2gBDuNe;  

Best Colleges in America

*Note: Scores rounded to improve readability.

 

Ranking by Region

Midwest Rank	College (Percentile)	North Rank	College (Percentile)	South Rank	College (Percentile)	West Rank	College (Percentile)
1	Carleton College (MN) (97)	1	Amherst College (MA) (93)	1	Davidson College (NC) (98)	1	Harvey Mudd College (CA) (92)
2	Grinnell College (IA) (95)	2	Swarthmore College (PA) (87)	2	Virginia Military Institute (VA) (95)	2	Pomona College (CA) (85)
3	Macalester College (MN) (92)	3	Wellesley College (MA) (80)	3	Centre College (KY) (93)	3	Whitman College (WA) (77)
4	St Olaf College (MN) (89)	4	Barnard College (NY) (73)	4	Southwestern University (TX) (91)	4	Scripps College (CA) (69)
5	Kenyon College (OH) (87)	5	Lafayette College (PA) (67)	5	Birmingham Southern College (AL) (89)	5	Thomas Aquinas College (CA) (62)
6	Wabash College (IN) (84)	6	Colby College (ME) (60)	6	Wofford College (SC) (86)	6	Carroll College (MT) (54)
7	Illinois Wesleyan University (IL) (82)	7	Haverford College (PA) (53)	7	Bridgewater College (VA) (84)	7	Linfield College-McMinnville Campus (OR) (46)
8	DePauw University (IN) (79)	8	Farmingdale State College (NY) (47)	8	Young Harris College (GA) (82)	8	University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (OK) (38)
9	College of the Ozarks (MO) (76)	9	Wells College (NY) (40)	9	Alice Lloyd College (KY) (80)	9	Westmont College (CA) (31)
10	The College of Wooster (OH) (74)	10	Lycoming College (PA) (33)	10	Hampden-Sydney College (VA) (77)	10	Arizona Christian University (AZ) (23)
11	University of Minnesota-Morris (MN) (71)	11	SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill (NY) (27)	11	Maryville College (TN) (75)	11	Dillard University (LA) (15)
12	Hanover College (IN) (68)	12	Thiel College (PA) (20)	12	Southern Virginia University (VA) (73)	12	Lewis-Clark State College (ID) (8)
13	Hope College (MI) (66)	13	Marymount Manhattan College (NY) (13)	13	Spelman College (GA) (70)	13	Bacone College (OK) (1)
14	Coe College (IA) (63)	14	Southern Vermont College (VT) (7)	14	Randolph-Macon College (VA) (68)
15	Luther College (IA) (61)	15	University of Maine at Fort Kent (ME) (1)	15	Ouachita Baptist University (AR) (66)
16	Alma College (MI) (58)			16	Toccoa Falls College (GA) (64)
17	Central College (IA) (55)			17	Eckerd College (FL) (61)
18	Kuyper College (MI) (53)			18	Lyon College (AR) (59)
19	College of Saint Benedict (MN) (50)			19	West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WV) (57)
20	Ripon College (WI) (47)			20	Oglethorpe University (GA) (55)
21	Wartburg College (IA) (45)			21	Kentucky Wesleyan College (KY) (52)
22	Albion College (MI) (42)			22	Roanoke College (VA) (50)
23	Northland College (WI) (39)			23	Davis & Elkins College (WV) (48)
24	Bethany Lutheran College (MN) (37)			24	Huntingdon College (AL) (45)
25	Eureka College (IL) (34)			25	Belmont Abbey College (NC) (43)
26	Blackburn College (IL) (32)			26	Newberry College (SC) (41)
27	University of Minnesota-Crookston (MN) (29)			27	Central Baptist College (AR) (39)
28	Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (MO) (26)			28	Judson College (AL) (36)
29	Sterling College - KS (KS) (24)			29	William Peace University (NC) (34)
30	Doane University-Arts & Sciences (NE) (21)			30	North Carolina Wesleyan College (NC) (32)
31	Iowa Wesleyan University (IA) (18)			31	University of South Carolina-Beaufort (SC) (30)
32	Cornell College (IA) (16)			32	University of the Ozarks (AR) (27)
33	MacMurray College (IL) (13)			33	Glenville State College (WV) (25)
34	Lake Superior State University (MI) (11)			34	Virginia Wesleyan College (VA) (23)
35	Finlandia University (MI) (8)			35	Ferrum College (VA) (20)
36	Dickinson State University (ND) (5)			36	Morehouse College (GA) (18)
37	Wilmington College (OH) (3)			37	Paul Quinn College (TX) (16)
38	Holy Cross College (IN) (1)			38	Bluefield State College (WV) (14)
				39	Stillman College (AL) (11)
				40	Edward Waters College (FL) (9)
				41	Paine College (GA) (7)
				42	Saint Augustine's University (NC) (5)
				43	Lane College (TN) (2)
				44	Livingstone College (NC) (1)

 

Ask the Experts

Although renowned for their quality, the biggest names in higher education don’t always prove to be the best value or choice for students. And with tuition rates rising every year, many students are likely to be more selective with their options. To advance the discussion on cost-related matters in post-secondary education, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. Are Ivy League and other “name-brand” schools worth the high sticker price?
2. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment?
3. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52 percent of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities?
4. Should college be tuition-free? How else can we work to make college more affordable?
5. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects?

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• T. Jameson Brewer Assistant Professor of Social Foundations of Education in the Teacher Education Department at the University of North Georgia
• James Hoopes Murata Professor of Ethics in Business at Babson College
• Harry Brighouse Professor of Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
• George D. Kuh Chancellor's Professor of Higher Education Emeritus and Founder of the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University
• Gavin Henning President of Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Doctorate of Education & Master of Higher Education Administration Programs at New England College
• Frederic Jacobs Professor of Education in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University
• Eugene T. Parker III Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Kansas
• Douglas N. Harris Professor of Economics, Schleider Foundation Chair in Public Education and Director of the Education Research Program at the Murphy Institute at Tulane University
• Don Mills Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership in the College of Education at Texas Christian University
• Donald W. Mroz President of Post University
• Demetri L. Morgan Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the Loyola University Chicago School of Education
• Bob Blankenberger Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education and Associate Professor & Chair of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield
• Alexander Jun Professor in the Department of Higher Education at Azusa Pacific University
• A.J. Angulo Professor of Education and Graduate Coordinator in the Higher Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell

T. Jameson Brewer Assistant Professor of Social Foundations of Education in the Teacher Education Department at the University of North Georgia Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? This is always an interesting question and one that would, seemingly, be an important question for our society to answer. Yet, we’ve actually already answered this question. In the 1800s, when Horace Mann posited that all children should be educated in common schools, for free, our society understood the unparalleled importance of investing time, money, and resources into our nation’s children -- who then became our nation’s students. I do, however, want to pause to point out that we’ve never actually achieved a fully common or equal education system for all of our nation’s children, and inequalities and opportunity gaps persist along racial and class lines. We’ve largely understood that our nation’s economic well-being and growth is reliant upon an educated workforce, and whether we’re competing with our previous self or on the international stage, it is generally held that we must educate our nation’s students if we have any hope for their own personal well-being and our nation’s growth. A handful of decades ago, we understood that a high school diploma was necessary for gainful employment and, as a result, not only benefited the individual, but represented a benefit for the collective good of the country. And while public university tuition has never been free, the government heavily subsidized state universities until the 1980s because we collectively understood the value to the public good when an individual engaged in higher education. However, we’ve moved away from that disposition and have replaced public support for the common good with the myth that we’re all in it alone. A high school diploma does not often translate into gainful employment in the 21st century, and our nation’s college students are taking on unparalleled amounts of debt. Our economy requires training above and beyond what is offered in K-12 education, and this is made ever so apparent by the growing shortage of skilled workers that require the type of training that comes with an associate’s degree. The purpose of education is to grow as an individual, realize potential, experience literature and art, be exposed to science for the sake of wonder -- and, yes, to develop the necessary learning that will translate into employment. So, to anyone who suggests that we can’t or shouldn’t provide free college tuition, I’d ask them why we provide free K-12 education, and if they thought a high school diploma represented the pinnacle of sufficient learning for making meaningful contributions to our society, and to find meaningful and gainful employment to provide for oneself and for the collective good. Of course, nothing is free. But, we’ve collectively decided that we would make public K-12 education, policing, firefighting, military protection, roads, libraries, etc. “free” at the point of delivery, because we understand those things to be fundamentally necessary to a standard quality of life for an individual and the society as a whole. Return on investments in education are one of the highest that we have when it comes to tax dollars spent. Because we, as a society, have committed to providing a free K-12 education to all children, it makes little sense to stop our investment when the student finishes high school. Not only does that not make sense in the global marketplace of the 21st century -- since a high school diploma carries little weight -- but if we’re so willing to invest in an individual for 13 years (spending well into the six figures per student), it makes little sense to refuse to invest just a little more for either two or four years, so that the individual themselves are better positioned but, in return, society benefits. We spend more on national defense than the next dozen or so countries behind us. There is no greater defense of our nation’s children than investing -- fully -- in their education. They, and we, will be the beneficiaries. We have the financial resources necessary to expand free education beyond K-12, it’s a question of willpower and priorities. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? Aside from seeking out scholarships (many of which go unawarded), I think that undergraduates should seek on-campus opportunities and jobs that provide tuition, housing, or meal plan waivers in exchange for work. For example, many universities offer free or reduced room and board for those who serve as a Resident Assistant (RA) in the dormitories. Graduate students should do their best to find a program of study and institution that aligns with their areas of interest, but also programs that are committed to providing financial assistance in the form of waivers in exchange for teaching or working as a research assistant. There are organizations and technology that can be leveraged to find scholarships that often go unclaimed (though it’s always worthwhile to check with an institution’s financial aid office, too). Finding graduate stipends and tuition waivers is a little more challenging, since they often require connections to a faculty member or organization affiliated with the institution. If you’re interested in graduate studies, attend conferences in your area of study while you’re an undergraduate student. Don’t forget to network -- have conversations about funding opportunities at various institutions. Talk to both faculty and students, the latter of which will be bluntly honest. James Hoopes Murata Professor of Ethics in Business at Babson College Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? “Name brand” schools are often worth it for non-financial reasons, as well as financial. But if you’re looking at tuition as a financial investment and judging it by return on investment, then you need to do the same sort of analysis as for any other investment -- “look down before you look up.” That is, how much could you lose, and is such a loss affordable? Do you have to go into debt, or can you easily afford the tuition? If the latter -- sure, go for it. If there’s a mountain of debt waiting at the other end, are you planning on majoring in a subject that will make you employable at a level of income where you can manage the debt or, better, eventually see the debt as a minor matter? If you have your heart set on studying something not highly remunerative, follow your passion by all means. But if you’re not wealthy, follow that passion at a state school. Or maybe try a community college for a couple years, and then go on to a four-year school. After all, the really intense focus in your major is most likely to happen in the last couple of years of college. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? Years ago, there was a study which showed that in terms of “value added” -- as judged by comparing scores on the SAT taken senior year in high school, and the GRE taken senior year in college -- small liberal arts colleges outperformed many large, famous universities. The same may be true of small, specialized schools in art, business, engineering, fashion, pharmacy, and other disciplines. If you know for sure what you want to study, you might do best to attend a small specialized school with a faculty and student body highly dedicated to your area of interest. Even so, finances may determine whether that small, specialized school should be an expensive private institution, or a less expensive state school. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? That sounds like a recipe for mediocrity. As long as non-profits are not taxed, making an exception for the well-endowed will only reduce quality, not inequality. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? Free tuition at public institutions of higher education is long overdue. Private colleges and universities could be made more affordable through a system of publicly financed scholarships. Both of the above programs could be financed by reducing sentences for non-violent crimes, and redirecting into education the billions we now waste on the prison-industrial complex. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? First, remember that your education is about a lot more than graduating “with minimal debt and great job prospects.” Your education is about living up to your potential in many ways, and contributing not just to your individual well-being, but to your family, your society, and the many who live in places without hope and opportunity. Still, a sure way to reduce your chance to be one of the useful and respected people of your generation is to take on needless and wasteful debt. Avoid lifestyle envy. Friends may be headed for a beautiful campus with a state-of-the-art gym, including a rock-climbing wall. That’s okay if they can afford it, but you’ll learn more about life by climbing real obstacles than phony ones. Don’t follow the conventional wisdom that you “have” to go to college. Use your head and “critical thinking skills” before you go to college. If you go to college, include the ability to stand up straight afterward in your goals, rather than staggering along under an unmanageable debt. That might mean not going to college full-time, but getting a job after high school and taking classes part-time. It might mean starting a business -- lawn maintenance, house cleaning, house painting, dog walking, whatever -- while taking classes. It might mean choosing a less expensive state school. Or it might mean taking on debt, but in full awareness not just of the possible rewards, but also the risks. And while you’re doing all the tough-minded thinking about money, allow yourself a bit of fun and dream a few dreams. There’s no one as boring as a person who measures everything by money. Harry Brighouse Professor of Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? It depends on the student, and what they are trying to get out of it. What the Ivies and other highly resourced institutions provide is:

• A lot of contact with instructors (including, in most, professors, though not necessarily the really famous researchers), and plenty of support if things go wrong;

• Access to networks that can connect you to elite positions. If you want to work on Wall Street, and have the money, even the sticker price at Harvard might be worth it. If you want to eventually lead a school district, or be a Nurse Practitioner, or a social worker -- then I doubt the sticker price is worth it (though if you can get sufficient grant aid, it might still be a good idea).

Also, though, some students will get plenty of attention and support wherever they go, and some students are going to be diligent and serious wherever they go. For them, it might do a lot better to go to a public flagship, not only because it’s cheaper, but because there is actually a fantastic educational experience available for the student who wants it and knows how to get it. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? From society's point of view, my guess is that the best of the less selective public institutions offer the best deal -- the institutions that are producing professionals who work in the local economy, contribute to and help enrich and stabilize their communities by living and working in them, and doing that well. From an individual point of view, it probably varies a lot, but going to an institution that launches you into a higher-paying career is a great payoff -- one that sometimes doesn't help the public much. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? Taxing endowments seems sensible to me. If universities want to stay tax-free, then they need to demonstrate very clearly how their saving contributes to the public good, rather than to the private benefit of the students they produce (and the faculty). Tax exemption on gifts and endowments that help produce higher quality elementary school teachers, nurses or clinical psychologists seems like a good deal for the public; tax exemption on gifts and endowments that help subsidize the education of students whose families could afford full tuition, and will end up in high-paying jobs anyway, doesn't seem like a good deal. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? College should not be tuition free. Even public college shouldn't be. Think of how much that would cost. Whatever that sum is, if we wanted a more educated public, we'd spend it on pre-K through 8 schooling; there's plenty of need there, and nearly everyone attends elementary and middle school. And if we wanted a more equally educated population, we'd also spend that sum on pre-K through 8 schooling, and public health measures and health insurance, to ensure that poor kids are better equipped to take advantage of school. Free college tuition would be a giveaway to the affluent, and would make public institutions even more vulnerable than they currently are to the whims of legislators. We can make college more affordable by:

• Supplementing Pell Grants, at the state level, for eligible students who choose to attend public and not-for-profit schools (and, ideally, reforming Pell Grants so that they cannot be used at institutions that are demonstrably low-quality);

• Giving college teachers incentives and infrastructural support to improve their instruction throughout higher education;

• In the more selective institutions, give professors incentives to spend more time teaching -- maybe going back to the amount of time they spent teaching in the 1970s, when college was, not accidentally, more affordable;

• Investing in better advising systems at institutions with low graduation rates;

• Simplifying distribution requirements.

It’s worth mentioning that in the past 25 years, the Federal government has increased subsidies to higher education considerably in the form of tax-exempt college savings accounts, and tax deductions for tuition revenues. Eliminating these benefits, which flow mainly to more affluent families whose increased spending power bids up the cost of tuition, and redirecting the benefits to lower-income families (in the form of means-tested scholarships) would help make higher education more affordable for needy families. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? My advice would be to go to the most selective public institution you can attend in your state, work in the summers to support yourself, but during the school year, devote yourself as much as you can to schoolwork. Choose classes on the following bases:

• Does the subject interest you?

• How big is the class (choose small classes)?

• How good is the professor?

The key skills you need coming out of college are to be able to communicate effectively orally and in writing, and to be able to work on solving problems with people you have not chosen to work with -- take classes which give you the requisite technical skills for your field, but also take classes in which you'll do more abstract thinking -- even if you can't necessarily see how they'll be relevant to your career. Go to office hours. For every hour in class, spend two hours studying, when you are awake and alert. Make friends in class, and talk to your friends (and your family) about the material you are learning. George D. Kuh Chancellor's Professor of Higher Education Emeritus and Founder of the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? There are hundreds of two- and four-year colleges and universities that can provide a high-quality undergraduate experience. The so-called sticker price is not nearly as important as the institution clearly articulating its desired learning outcomes, and then requiring students to complete a coherent set of general education and major-field courses, that through carefully designed assignments and other experiences, induce students to demonstrate they have attained the desired outcomes. In addition, a well-designed undergraduate experience would require students to participate in several high-impact practices (HIPs), such as writing-intensive courses, learning communities, theme-based residences, service learning, study away, and capstone experiences. Such activities typically induce students to devote more focused effort to their learning, and result in elevated levels of engagement in other educationally purposeful activities; students are also more likely to earn a degree. HIPs also confer compensatory effects, in that participating in one or more HIPs boosts the performance of students who are less well-prepared academically, as well as those who are first in their family to attend college and those from historically underserved groups. In general, smaller residential institutions are more likely to organize the undergraduate experience in a manner congenial to the brief description above. But any school, including large public universities and community colleges, can do these things, and there are numerous examples. Among the usual suspects in the former category are University of Texas at El Paso, Georgia Institute of Technology, San Diego State University, and Northeastern University; in the latter are Miami-Dade College and LaGuardia Community College. Of course, it helps to attract motivated, academically prepared students. And money matters, too. But it is not how much an institution has to spend per student, but how and where it chooses to spend it. So, can a student get a top-quality education at a pricey Ivy League school? You bet. But students can also get something similar that will serve them well during and after college at lots of other places. What matters most is what students do with the resources their college provides, not the resources themselves. Gavin Henning President of Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Doctorate of Education & Master of Higher Education Administration Programs at New England College Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? It depends on what is meant by “worth.” Surprisingly, there is little difference between colleges. A review of the literature completed by Mayhew et al. (2016) suggests that there is little difference in learning outcomes between institutions. However, there were slight career benefits for more prestigious or rigorous institutions. Attending a selective college or university does result in benefits for graduation and future earnings. Like many things, worth is what someone makes of the experience. Students who are more engaged in both in- and out-of-class activities will find more value in their collegiate experience. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? The answer really depends on the goal of the taxation. If the goal is redistribution of wealth, there would need to be an equitable way to redistribute the taxes to less wealthy colleges and universities. I’m not sure there is an easy or mutually agreeable way to do that. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? The debate regarding whether college should be free boils down to a fundamental question regarding the primary value of higher education in the United States. Is higher education a public or private good? In the U.S., primary and secondary education is considered a public good and is provided at no cost to students, funded by local and federal governments. However, unlike other countries, such as Finland and Sweden, higher education is not provided for free. Higher education does benefit the public, as well as the individual. According to the National Center of Educational Statistics, individuals with a bachelor’s degree earned 64 percent more than those without, and can earn up to 74 percent more over a lifetime compared to people without a bachelor’s degree. While this may be viewed as a personal benefit, increased earnings translate into increased revenue from taxes and increased economic impact from greater consumption of goods. In addition, according to a study by Georgetown University, by 2020, 65 percent of all jobs will require post-secondary education training beyond high school. Thus, there is a public good for post-secondary education to fill these jobs, and also train and re-train local and national workforces for new and emerging fields. There is also concern that college students are choosing majors based on earning potential of future jobs. This trend leads to fewer students choosing social service-type jobs (e.g., teaching, social work, etc.) because they often pay lower than other jobs. Students may not choose a career that doesn’t pay enough cover loans payments. There is also a social justice perspective to college attainment. According to the Brookings Institution, a person’s educational attainment is one of the most important determinants of their life changes in regard to job, income, health, and housing. Given the numerous public and personal benefits of higher education, it seems that there should not be a financial barrier to access and excessive debt upon graduation. While the value of higher education is important, the practical aspect to free college tuition is figuring out how to pay for it. Frederic Jacobs Professor of Education in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? There are numerous factors that one must take into account in making a decision to go to a school with a strong reputation and a higher “sticker price.” First of all, there are the tangible factors, including:

• Graduation rate (what percent of students graduate in four or five years?);

• Employment rate (what percent of students are employed in a field related to their major/field of study one year after graduation?);

• Percent of students going to graduate/professional school within five years of graduation;

• Amount of debt at graduation;

• Lifetime earnings compared with schools with less strong reputations.

Second, there are the intangible factors, including:

• Reputation, particularly in certain professions, where alumni networks are strong;

• Opportunity, including access to post-baccalaureate awards and fellowships, and opportunities for internships and practicum;

• Social mobility, including personal and professional networking.

It is likely that attending a high-prestige institution can provide opportunities and “open doors” that would be more difficult to obtain if one attended a less prestigious institution. In the long term, students who attend “name brand” institutions have greater lifetime earnings, with a higher percent of graduates attending graduate school than those attending less prestigious institutions. It is important to understand the issue of debt at graduation. Among the most prestigious institutions, there has been a growing pattern of making admission “need-blind,” so that depending on family and individual need, some students would have the costs of attendance fully subsidized by the institution. In such situations, the only student debt that would be incurred would be for personal expenses. In reality, the cost of attending such institutions is less significant for the neediest, and most significant for students whose families are middle class. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? ROI (return on investment) is complicated to assess, because one needs to define the nature of the investment. Is it money? Time? Opportunity? Students willing to take on debt burden by attending a prestigious institution are probably more likely to have higher lifetime earnings or a greater likelihood of attending graduate or professional school, so the ROI in a financial sense might be worth it, if one is willing to accept the reality of having student debt to be repaid over an extended period of time. Data indicate that time to degree completion is shorter among more prestigious institutions, so the mean time to graduation might be less in those institutions. Thus, the ROI on time spent might make it more “efficient” to attend an institution where “time spent” is shortest. As mentioned above, the ROI on opportunity, although very difficult to quantify, may be a catalyst for employment, advanced degrees and career mobility for graduates of more prestigious opportunities. Increasingly, institutions that provide greater flexibility for students to meet graduation requirements appear to provide a strong ROI. Specifically, institutions that permit students to enter college with advanced standing (credit for academic work done in high school, for example), enable students to obtain credit for internships and study abroad, and allow students to accelerate their academic progress by taking online, as well as face-to-face courses, can increase the ROI for students. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? The “top” universities with all that endowment wealth are, in reality, multi-faceted institutions with multiple purposes. In addition to providing undergraduate and graduation education, they are centers for research and discovery. For example, virtually all the Nobel Laureates in the United States have done their research at universities, and almost all of the most prestigious hospitals and medical centers in the U.S. are affiliated with universities. At some of the wealthiest universities, as much as half of the faculty are engaged in research, not teaching, and that work is integral to societal advancement. In addition, there is a steadily increasing practice of tuition discounting among almost all colleges and universities, according to the Association of Governing Boards. Thus, some endowment wealth is routinely used to offset the cost of education to students. According to a report by the National Association of College and University Business Officers in 2016, the average institutional tuition discount rate was approximately 48.6 percent, and was higher among some of the most highly endowed institutions. That said, however, tuition discounting remains voluntary for colleges and universities, and is based on competition and demand. By contrast, private non-profit foundations are legally required to spend a fixed amount of their net worth each year for charitable purposes. Foundations have payout requirements in the form of qualifying distributions (five percent of their net investment assets). Whether there should be a comparable legal requirement for colleges and universities is an important public policy issue. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? There are nearly 5,000 two- and four-year institutions in the U.S., about one-third of them public and two-thirds are private, although nearly three-quarters of the enrolled students are in public institutions. It is not feasible to have a single tuition policy applicable to all institutions. However, there are some options that can make colleges more affordable:

• Tuition at community colleges is much lower than at four-year institution, and attending a public community college and then transferring to a four-year public institution is a very affordable option for many students;

• For those in the workforce, many employers provide tuition benefits for their employees, either paying total tuition costs, or subsidizing those costs;

• The military provides educational benefits to veterans;

• As mentioned above, tuition discounting reduces the “sticker price” of tuition;

• Some career options that involve work in the public sector, in fields such as teaching or social work, offer opportunities for loan forgiveness.

What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job?

• Determine how much you (and your family) can afford, and don’t exceed your budget;

• Calculate the estimated cost of repaying student loans after you graduate, and determine whether that repayment amount is realistic given your family circumstances and the career you are likely to pursue;

• If feasible, pay off (or substantially pay off) student debt from one degree before taking on more debt for your next degree;

• Be an astute consumer of education and degrees -- use all the options available to accumulate the credits needed for graduation (pre-college credits, internships, independent work for credit) and use your time efficiently, taking advantage of summer school, “semester break” options and independent/self-directed opportunities to accelerate your progress toward completion;

• Seek out cost-effective opportunities to lower overall costs of attending college -- attending a lower-tuition community college for one or two years, or even just for a summer can be very cost-effective. In some situations, studying aboard may be less costly than attending your college. Identify and pursue paid internships, if feasible.

Eugene T. Parker III Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Kansas What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? Some considerations of students’ investment in higher education follow conventional economic models of choice, particularly human capital concepts. Students are more willing to invest in their own advanced education when they perceive the benefits (both short-term and lifelong) to be greater than the associated financial costs or exigency. What muddles this idea is that there are differences between how students pay for college and the corresponding premiums that are attached to how students are able to pay. For instance, there is an added financial obligation when borrowing for college versus if a student receives institutional or state grants. That said, it is challenging for higher education scholars to generalize return on investment and how students engage with the concept. It is essentially student-specific, and based on many individual-centered variables. Let’s say a student with high need completes high school and is considering college attendance. If that student does not attend college, they can work and receive earnings. If the student decides to attend college, they are forgoing potential earnings from being able work immediately after high school. This is a cost, albeit an indirect one. Additionally, they will pay tuition, another cost. However, that student may perceive significant benefit from attending an Ivy League school rather than a community college. If so, that student is willing to spend much more based on a perception of greater lifelong benefits, such as earnings from work (and return of investment). A student with high income may have a much different outlook. Thus, considerations for return on investment often depends of the value that individual students place on means of paying for college, particularly student loans for students from low to middle socioeconomic status backgrounds. The present research in this area has increasingly focused on the disparities between the borrowing patters of varying student groups, and particularly, college outcomes. There is a gap between the borrowing tendencies of low-income students versus upper-income students and indicators of college success, such as retention and graduation rates. There are many organizations and agencies that attempt to rate the “best” value colleges. While not perfect, these agencies try to associate the price, i.e., tuition, that institutions charge, the demographics of the students they serve, and institutional performance outcomes. For instance, a good value college might be a school that admits a significantly higher number of students with need, while graduating a higher proportion of those students and/or with lower resulting debt. Again, this can’t be generalized to the entire population. High-income students may approach this topic quite differently than low-income students. This also attends to your question about “name brand” schools and higher sticker prices. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? I will provide some thoughts for your consideration that ought to be included in the discussion surrounding this topic. First, there are differences between the endowments of private and public institutions. So, when one considers state (and federal) policies, you must attend to this assertion. Another consideration is that some institutional foundations are constructed with complex and intricate financial statuses that are separate from the status of the associated college or university. Often, the antecedents of large endowments are private giving, institutional foundations and development office activities. There could be implications and unintended consequences when you consider taxing gifts. For instance, how would this notion of federal and state taxes affect the perspective of a potential donor who might want to provide a $2 million gift to a public university? If you knew that your $2 million gift will be taxed at 20 percent, would that influence your decision? What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? I have several recommendations for students who want to graduate with minimum debt while maximizing job prospects. First, prior to attending college or very early during one’s college career, try to hone in on your interests or your passions. What truly interests you? What are your hobbies? What do you actually enjoy doing? There are many different institutional types available for many different fields of study that can lead to successful careers. If a student has a passion for a particular trade or vocation, an associate’s degree might be a suitable option, rather than a bachelor’s degree. Students ought to research potential careers and associated details about those careers, such as expected earnings, life/work considerations, etc. For instance, if a student does not want to sit in an office 9am-5pm, there are plenty of careers that afford a person to not have traditional work hours, work from home, or work from a laptop in a coffeeshop. Additionally, some careers have lower expected lifetime earnings than other careers. Thus, when students choose to borrow, they should consider the cost associated with that financial cost, and their ability to afford those costs in their chosen professional field. Finally, students need to be intentional and strategic with their college choice. For example, students should follow their wants and what they value from a college experience. If a student is captivated by big-time college athletics and the “traditional” college experience, then they should choose a school that provides that particular environment. Students who are not content with their institutional selection may be at greater risk of leaving their college or university. Students should choose schools that are economically feasible, given their financial state. This is vital for today’s college students. Borrowing versus not borrowing, federal versus private loans, on-campus versus off-campus work, living at home versus staying with parents, buying a new laptop versus purchasing a used one, purchasing books online versus at the bookstore -- these are all strategic decision opportunities that ultimately influence the capacity to be debt-free at the end of college. Douglas N. Harris Professor of Economics, Schleider Foundation Chair in Public Education and Director of the Education Research Program at the Murphy Institute at Tulane University Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? From an income standpoint, paying full tuition at an Ivy League school is probably not worthwhile, though most who go to these schools do so for reasons other than income. The situation is more complicated for students who receive scholarships. For example, some colleges offer large scholarships that greatly reduce the cost of attendance. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? The best return is usually from public flagship universities. The quality of education is similar to the Ivy League, but at a cheaper price. Likewise, I would avoid private for-profit colleges. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? Almost all the large-endowment colleges are private non-profits, whose activities and donations are generally not taxed because they are supposed to be serving a broader public purpose. So, the question is whether these colleges are fulfilling their public functions. Even asking this question opens up a much larger debate about whether and how the government can measure what specific non-profits contribute to the world at large. It's hard to calculate the value Harvard or, say, the Red Cross, provides to society. That said, the large endowments at some universities are unlike anything that exists in the non-profit sector generally. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? There are advantages and disadvantages to the free college idea. On the one hand, it would make college more accessible, especially to low-income families, but it would probably also reduce college resources and quality, because the government would choose funding levels. Given how strained budgets are already, free college would almost certainly mean reduced college funding in the long run, and research shows that this would reduce quality, including the number of college graduates. One option that may be the best of all worlds is the Obama Administration's income-based loan repayment program. With this approach, almost anyone can afford college because they wouldn't have to pay anything upfront, yet colleges could still adjust tuition to bring in additional resources. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? Students obviously should look for careers where there are jobs available, but they also need to focus on what they love to do. Then, they should look for colleges that offer the right programs at a reasonable cost. Also, ignore the "sticker price" and remember that some expensive colleges give large scholarships, especially to academically strong, low-income students -- and negotiate with the financial office to get more aid. Don Mills Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership in the College of Education at Texas Christian University Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? The question of whether schools are “worth the price” has more of a value orientation than an economic or educational one. How does one place a monetary value on an intrinsic benefit? If educational and personal development growth is the measure, then there may be many schools that are a “fit” for a student -- both little known and “name brand” schools. If academic and intellectual stimulation and challenge is the measure, then the “name brand” school may indeed be worth the price. Part of the value of a college education consists of learning from one’s classmates. Smaller classes, lower acceptance rates, and lower faculty-student ratios do increase cost, and are often assumed to provide a more stimulating classroom than schools that are less expensive but also have larger classes, higher acceptance rates and higher faculty-student ratios. How much are individuals willing to pay for that, and many other perceived advantages? And what, really, is the size of the advantage that may be obtained? Pretty tough to measure. So, the question must really be asked in the context of personal and family circumstances and values. Is a college education at a high tuition institution that creates debt hardship for a student and/or family worth it? Is a college education to be measured only on the extrinsic benefits? Is the truest measure of a college’s value the cost, or is the true value based more on the ability of the college to prepare students to meet both their educational and aspirational goals? If a college does that, then the sticker price is worth it -- but sticker price is not a guarantor of that. It is worth noting that many students will attend graduate school where the student debt may be significantly higher than in undergraduate school. This will, no doubt, have an impact on whether the amount of debt is “worth it.” So, students and their parents should discuss the financial situation of the family, long-term educational goals, and the benefits of a particular school in this broader context to arrive at a sound decision. Finally, sticker price is worth it only if the institution is focused on using tuition resources to assure a student-centered learning environment. High-quality classroom instruction, equipment and other resources should reflect the investment students are making through tuition, and financial aid should be broadly available to enable students who will benefit the school and benefit from the school to matriculate. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? This question implies that college education can be measured as a financial transaction. Every person responds to an environment differently, so there is really no answer to this question. The traditional college-age student might benefit from the maturational benefits of living on a campus, while a single mother attending after work might benefit from a college that offers child care. For each of those students, the return on investment may be the best for them, but the institutions are vastly different. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? Endowments are established to assure that financial support will be available to institutions in perpetuity. In theory, that means that increases in the cost of living that result in increases in costs to students will be offset by endowment support, which has grown as rapidly or more rapidly than inflation. Considering constant dollars, tuition, in this scenario, should be only increased to improve quality, not to adjust to market or various price indices. I think a taxation on endowments would be a tax on future students and exert even more upward pressure on tuition. From a political perspective, however, if institutions do not moderate tuition growth, it may prove politically impossible for policymakers to avoid taxing endowments. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? I think it is important that people have a financial commitment to their own education. After all, at least some of the benefits of a college education accrue to the individual. But some of the benefits of a college education are also a benefit to society as a whole. An educated populace is important for economic growth, creativity, and a functioning democracy. That is why there should be a more broad-based national commitment to higher education, beyond the burdening of students with debt. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? I have long been a believer in work as a factor in a successful student career. Work organizes time, teaches good habits, and may offer opportunities to meet and work with people different than oneself -- and you can earn money. Many schools are also providing subsidies for students who work/intern with non-profit organizations. That experience also gives students an understanding of the role that non-governmental agencies play in our democracy. Now this only provides a portion -- sometimes a small portion -- of the cost of attendance, but enhances the collegiate experience. And not to be too sanguine, the great job is one that stimulates the imagination, not just the wallet. Donald W. Mroz President of Post University Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? Ivy League and so-called “top-name” schools do carry a certain cachet among many business leaders and HR professionals, but I think that may be changing. People are discovering that they can get an excellent education at plenty of other schools as well. While “name brand schools” may have been -- or still be -- “worth their sticker price,” time will tell if they continue in that vein. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? If you talk to a cross-section of business leaders, they’ll say that too many college and university graduates today don’t have the real-world skills businesses need. In many cases, career-focused schools or those like Post, that expand students’ knowledge base but also teach the soft skills businesses demand, produce more business-ready graduates, thus they may deliver the best return on investment. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? Don’t over-extend yourself by enrolling in a school you can’t afford simply because it has a “name.” Find a school within your budget that focuses on your chief areas of interest, offers placement preparation and assistance, and provides real-world training along with academic excellence. I tell students and parents, “Do your homework.” Scholarships are available to help with college costs, but you have to be diligent and you have to want it. Many of them go unused because people don’t apply for them. Take advantage of scholarships, because you don’t have to pay them back. You’ll be happier -- and so will your wallet. Demetri L. Morgan Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the Loyola University Chicago School of Education Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? As a preface, I’d offer two important things to keep in mind regarding this question. First, very few students actually pay anywhere near the sticker price for college, much less at the Ivy League institutions that have worked to reduce the loan amount students need to borrow to attend their schools. So, while it may seem like going to one of these institutions is going to cost $55,000, if a student only has to come out of pocket for $10,000 after grants and scholarships, the calculation of “worth” begins to change incrementally and as a result, it is going to be different for every student. Relatedly, “worth” is in the eye of the beholder, and equally substantive cases can be made for and against the value-added that these types of well-regarded institutions can uniquely afford students, relative to other, less branded or visible institutions. Given these two caveats, and although it is perhaps unwise to make a definitive statement, I don’t think it is worth it from an economic standpoint to pay full sticker price for these or any institution, unless a student or student’s family can easily afford it. However, there is a much harder to measure social and cultural capital “worth” these institutions provide to students which are most certainly worth it, at least for most people that don’t start with these forms of capital -- accessing alumni networks and the affordances that come with assumptions made about degree holders from these schools, that provides opportunities other students may not get. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? With full disclosure, I’m a firm believer in and staunch advocate for the idea that postsecondary education has and should continue to produce both public and private returns for individuals and society. Most universities (including a handful of for-profit institutions) can help students learn skills, enhance their social networks, and effectively train them for the labor force, so long as a student completes their degree, translating into a good return on their financial and time investment. However, I’d be remiss to not point out that people who go to and complete college also make a host of economic (e.g., more likely to pay higher taxes, less likely to need governmental assistance, etc.) and non-economic (e.g., more likely to vote and volunteer) contributions to society at large. With this in mind, it’s in state legislature’s best interest to invest in public colleges and support a college-going culture in their state, as the returns in this domain may be less immediate, but will manifest in a more highly educated, productive, and altruistic citizenry and workforce. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? No. This is when the inner conservative in me comes out. Again, two things to keep in mind. First, most people give to endowments with after-tax dollars. To tax endowments a second time would be a form of double taxation that doesn’t sit well with me, because it suggests that the government is a better arbiter of funds than individuals or organizations in a marketplace, which I fundamentally reject. Second, a large majority of funds within an endowment are restricted. Meaning that per the donors’ intent, the university can only spend the money on say, scholarships or the endowment of a faculty position, in perpetuity. So, most schools have very little unrestricted funds to spend, and with the rising cost of health insurance for its employees, deferred maintenance on campus buildings and equipment, and the capital needed to remain responsive to changing expectations of students with new programs and amenities -- I do not think it would be prudent to tax endowments. Yet, I do think institutions can and should be more transparent with how they run their endowments. They need to better educate the public and state and federal policymakers on how they spend their funds, when, and why, to change the narrative that institutions are just hoarding funds while students struggle to pay for college. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? Nothing in a quasi-capitalist economy is free. The free tuition movement is a misnomer because it shifts the burden of paying for college from students/families to another segment of the economy. A multipronged approach with students/families having to pay something either out of pocket or taking on loans to meet their unmet financial needs, while also encouraging states to increase their allocations to public colleges and universities to help control costs of producing an educational experience is the most realistic. As far as efforts to make college more affordable, it unfortunately did not get talked about much outside of education circles, but during the 2016 election, underneath the free college rhetoric, were actually some good ideas from Democrats and Republicans on how to address college affordability. The Clinton campaign called for rethinking how we do federal work-study, and looked towards a work requirement for students to help reduce cost. We need better data before I go all in, but I think the Rubio campaign’s tentative ideas around income-share agreements, done in a socially just way, could help make college more affordable with more flexibility and responsiveness than traditional loan borrowing. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects?

• Start planning and saving for college as early as possible;

• Explore all of your postsecondary options, and don’t enroll until you have a good sense of what you want to do after graduation and how you plan to pay for college;

• Work on both your technical and soft skills while in college -- get involved in and seek to be a leader in student organizations, gain experiences outside of your areas of interest or intended career path, and learn how to work with and get along with people that are different than you.

Bob Blankenberger Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education and Associate Professor & Chair of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? Since the endowments are built through charitable donations, I do not believe that these should be subject to taxation. Often, these donations are made with specific interests in mind -- endowed scholarship, building, laboratory, research. This can make the funds difficult to expend. But the fact that the money is there does not mean that it should necessarily be taxed. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? When people recommend college tuition being "free," they should remember that there is still a substantial cost involved -- it will just be shifted to others to pay that cost. Then, it becomes a question of how much should the government and taxpayers offset that expense. There is considerable cost involved in providing education through colleges and universities, and that must come from somewhere. Government support for postsecondary education is based on the idea that providing for a well-educated population is a public good, and therefore worthy of being funded by taxpayers. Personally, I believe that this is a worthwhile public expense; however, not all taxpayers agree, or they may not agree on how much of the cost should be borne by taxpayers. With tight state budgets, direct government support for postsecondary education has been declining for decades, and the cost is being offset by increased tuition. As state support for public universities has been declining, the costs have been shifted from being spread broadly across taxpayers to being absorbed more directly by individuals through increased tuition. Government does provide some need-based grants as a type of voucher system and subsidizes student loans, but most of the cost is being absorbed by the direct beneficiaries of that education through increased tuition and borrowing to pay that tuition. With unbalanced state and federal budgets, any increased expenditures are financed through increased government debt. Instead of debt being incurred by government to pay for postsecondary education, that debt is being incurred directly by students and their families. However, that has negative economic consequences for society overall, such as reducing student purchasing power after graduation. Even given these considerations, I believe that education is an important public good, and government should increase expenditures to support postsecondary education. Society benefits by having a better educated population, which correlates to a healthier population, reduced crime rates, a better prepared workforce, and better educated voters. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? Students seeking to reduce the expense of college should consider accumulating early enrollment college credits, such as dual credit, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB). Take college preparatory curricula in high school, and be sure to take a fourth year of math in the senior year to help reduce the likelihood of needing to take development courses which slow postsecondary completion. Take four years of high school foreign language to complete the foreign language requirement that many colleges have. Consult college advisors early, and plan course taking carefully to minimize taking unnecessary credits. If a student is planning to go to graduate school, he or she should look for 4+1 or 3+2 programs that eliminate redundant coursework and enable a student to complete a graduate degree at an accelerated rate. To maximize marketability, students should identify minors and certificates that enhance their credentials for employers. For example, a student may want to major in traditional field like history or sociology, but they can minor in a related applied field that can enhance their credentials, such as digital media, computer applications, or human resources. Alexander Jun Professor in the Department of Higher Education at Azusa Pacific University Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? No, not all name brand colleges are worth the overly exorbitant sticker price. I would encourage a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to claims of being the "best college" based on various rankings and polls, and successful university marketing and branding campaigns. Much of the decision-making falls on the parent/guardian as consumer, and I would simply employ the principle “caveat emptor” -- the buyer is ultimately responsible for any purchased item. Students should understand what is most important about a given institution -- the faculty (especially the ones who actually teach undergraduate courses), research opportunities, and intentional communities of living and learning rise to the top of what prospective undergraduates consider. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? It is hard to justify tuition at any given elite institution that charges two or three times the tuition as a local state university. It begs the question of whether that elite college is in fact two or three times better than the local state institution. One measure of best return on investment that ought to be considered is whether or not your undergraduate university decision leaves you saddled with an unreasonably large amount of debt. As students are increasingly pursuing specialization through graduate education, where merit-based is more rare, it would be prudent to consider loan debt beyond bachelor’s degree attainment in one’s decision-making. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? Perhaps college leaders should focus less on peripheral expenditures that assumes a student-as-consumer approach to academic capitalism in the U.S. I am not sure that building state-of-the-art sports complexes and on-campus multipurpose apartments that include shopping facilities necessarily improve student learning that takes place within the classroom. The added bells and whistles in facilities certainly seem to drive up the price of tuition, while the average faculty salary remains relatively unchanged. What tips do you have for a student looking to graduate with minimal debt and great job prospects? To be honest, I think the two ought to be mutually exclusive. Students ought to look at graduating with minimal debt, while also evaluating how much learning has taken place. Students should consider factors such as increased critical thinking skills, and the development of deeper convictions about making a positive impact in the global community, rather than merely great job prospects right out of college. A.J. Angulo Professor of Education and Graduate Coordinator in the Higher Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Are Ivy League and other “name brand” schools worth the high sticker price? It depends. If your understanding of higher education is that you go there strictly to learn a skill or master an area of knowledge, then the answer is no. You can find great professors and programs of study at most non-profit colleges and universities today. But those drawn to "name brand" schools typically view college as involving more than information transfer. That's why MIT provides free access to materials from more than 2,400 courses. These kinds of institutions know that students will still apply and attend for a variety of social, cultural, political, and economic reasons. What type of universities do you think provide the best return on investment? Discussions about ROI and higher education often focus on lifetime earnings. Some ask, "How much will students make over a lifetime if they go to X as opposed to Y university?" That's not always the best way to evaluate what higher education has to offer. For most of us, a better metric has to do with fit. I prefer to ask, "Which non-profit college is most likely to graduate a specific demographic?" If a university offers a great financial aid package but has a low graduation rate, then the best bet is to keep looking. A student might pay more to attend an established college with higher graduation rates. But it may be well worth the added expense, if the chances of reaching the finish line are significantly higher. Given that the top 25 universities hold 52% of all endowment wealth, should the government consider taxing endowments of the wealthiest universities? No. Endowments fund scholarships and fellowships for students in need. That's why students can go to Harvard for free, if they're accepted and their families earn less than $65,000 per year. Davidson College, Princeton University, and other private institutions of higher education have used their tax-exempt resources in similar ways. Endowments also support the academic infrastructure that has made the U.S. a leading destination for globally-competitive college students. Nearly one million talented international students come to study at American institutions every year. The most competitive are drawn to endowment-supported research labs, centers, and initiatives. The latest breakthroughs and advances in knowledge come from these kinds of places. With substantial endowments, it's no surprise that seventeen of the top twenty-five universities in the world are located in the U.S. Tax-exemption helps makes all this and much more possible. Should college be tuition free? How else can we work to make college more affordable? Countries in Europe and elsewhere have made college tuition-free. The models are there. We just need the political will to recognize the great benefits that come from having a highly educated citizenry. Given the current $1.4 trillion student debt bubble looming over our economy, it would make sense to start borrowing and implementing ideas from other countries about tuition, fees, and stipends.

Methodology

In order to determine the best colleges in the U.S., WalletHub’s analysts compared 110 such institutions across seven key dimensions: 1) Student Selectivity, 2) Cost & Financing, 3) Faculty Resources, 4) Campus Safety, 5) Campus Experience, 6) Educational Outcomes and 7) Career Outcomes.

We evaluated those dimensions using 27 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best school performance and the most favorable conditions for undergraduate students during and after attendance.

Finally, we determined each school’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

In constructing our sample, we took into account the following types of institutions:

• Public, four-year or above
• Private, not-for-profit, four-year or above

Institutions were considered colleges if they provide only undergraduate, or baccalaureate degree, programs, universities if they offer graduate, including masters and/or doctoral degree, programs. (Separate rankings for universities as well as for colleges and universities combined also are available on WalletHub.)

Some institutions were excluded from our sample due to data limitations. Data collected is relevant to undergraduate students only.

Student Selectivity – Total Points: 25

• Admission Rate: Triple Weight (~12.50 Points)Note: This metric was calculated using the following formula: Total Number of Admissions / Total Number of Applicants.
• 25th Percentile of ACT/SAT Score: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)Note: This metric refers to the figure below which 25 percent of students scored.
• 75th Percentile of ACT/SAT Score: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)Note: This metric refers to the figure above which 25 percent of students scored.
• Share of Freshmen in Top 10 Percent of High School Graduating Class: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)

Cost & Financing – Total Points: 20

• Net Cost: Triple Weight (~12.00 Points)
• Availability of Employment Services for Students: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)Note: This binary metric considers the presence or absence of “activities intended to assist students in obtaining part-time employment as a means of defraying part of the cost of their education,” as described by the National Center for Education Statistics, as follows:
  • 1 - Yes
  • 0 - No
  • N/A - Not reported/not applicable
• Student-Loan Debt: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)Note: This metric measures the average amount of student loans awarded to full-time, first-time undergraduates.

Faculty Resources – Total Points: 10

• Student-Faculty Ratio: Double Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Average Class Size: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Share of Professors with Highest Degrees in their Fields: Half Weight (~1.25 Points)
• Share of Full-Time Faculty: Quarter Weight (~0.63 Points)
• Faculty Staff Salary: Quarter Weight (~0.63 Points)Note: This metric was adjusted by the cost-of-living index.

Campus Safety – Total Points: 5

• On-Campus Arrests: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)Note: This metric was calculated using the following formula: Total On-Campus Arrests / Total Enrollment.
• On-Campus Crime: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)Note: This metric was calculated using the following formula: Total On-Campus Crimes / Total Enrollment.

Campus Experience – Total Points: 5

• Share of International Students: Double Weight (~2.00 Points)
• NCAA Membership: Full Weight (~1.00 Point)Note: This binary metric considers whether the university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, as follows:
  • 1: Member of NCAA
  • 0: Not a member of NCAA
• Availability of Study-Abroad Program: Full Weight (~1.00 Point)Note: This binary metric considers the presence or absence of a study-abroad program, an arrangement by which a student completes part of his or her college program studying in another country, as follows:
  • 1: Study-abroad program available
  • 0: Study-abroad program not available
• Gender Diversity: Half Weight (~0.50 Points)Note: This metric is based on the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index method, a commonly accepted measure of market concentration that also works effectively as a general-purpose measure of diversity.
• Racial Diversity: Half Weight (~0.50 Points)Note: This metric is based on the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index method, a commonly accepted measure of market concentration that also works effectively as a general-purpose measure of diversity.

Educational Outcomes – Total Points: 20

• Retention Rate: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of the fall full-time cohort from the prior year minus exclusions from the fall full-time cohort that re-enrolled at the institution as either full- or part-time in the current year.
• Graduation Rate: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Credentials Awarded per Undergraduate Enrollment: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)Note: “Credentials” refers to bachelor’s degrees as well as certificates.

Career Outcomes – Total Points: 15

• Return on Educational Investment: Double Weight (~4.29 Points)Note: This metric measures the ratio of starting salary for graduates to cost of education.
• Post-Attendance Median Salary: Double Weight (~4.29 Points)Note: This metric measures the median earnings — 10 years after entering the school — of former students who received federal financial aid.
• Share of Former Students Outearning High School Graduates: Full Weight (~2.14 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of former students earning more than $25,000, or about the average earnings of a high school graduate aged 25 to 34, six years after they first enrolled.
• Share of Students Reducing Their Debt: Full Weight (~2.14 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of students who have repaid at least $1 of the principal balance on their federal loans within three years of leaving school.
• Student-Loan Default Rate: Full Weight (~2.14 Points)

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from, National Center for Education Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, U.S. Department of Education - Office of Postsecondary Education, COLLEGEdata, PayScale, U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Education - Federal Student Aid.

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