U.S. News: Best Values - National Universities (2009)

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Harvard University

Princeton University

Yale University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Stanford University

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Dartmouth College

Columbia University

University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill

Rice University

University of Pennsylvania

Duke University

University of Chicago

Vanderbilt University

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

University of Virginia

Brown University

Emory University

Johns Hopkins University

Northwestern University

University of Notre Dame

Washington University in St. Louis

North Carolina State University–Raleigh

Cornell University

Case Western Reserve University

University of Rochester

Lehigh University

Tufts University

Brandeis University

Wake Forest University

Carnegie Mellon University

Georgetown University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Texas A&M University–College Station

Howard University

University of Southern California (USC)

Pepperdine University

Boston College

University of Pittsburgh

Clark University

Yeshiva University

University of Minnesota–Twin Cities

University of the Pacific

Tulane University

Syracuse University

University of Miami

Georgia Institute of Technology

University of California–Berkeley

Loyola University Chicago

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Source: U.S. News

Methodology:

These rankings were based on three variables:

 

1. Ratio of quality to price: A school’s overall score in the America’s Best Colleges 2009 edition of the rankings was divided by the 2007-2008 academic year net cost to a student receiving the average need-based scholarship or grant. The higher the ratio of a school’s America’s Best Colleges 2009 edition rank to the discounted total cost less the average 2007-2008 academic year need-based scholarship or grant, the better the value. Total cost equals the sum of 2007-2008 academic year tuition, room and board, fees, books, and other expenses, including transportation.

 

2. Percentage of all undergraduates receiving need-based scholarships or grants during the 2007-2008 academic year.

 

3. Average discount: percentage of a school’s 2007-2008 total costs (tuition, room and board, fees, books, and other expenses) covered by the 2007-2008 academic year average need-based scholarship or grant to undergraduates.

 

Note: In the case of public institutions, 2007-2008 out-of-state tuition and percentage of out-of-state students receiving need-based scholarship or grants were used in all calculations.

 

Only those schools ranked in, or near, the top half of their America’s Best Colleges categories were considered. The schools’ overall Best Values ranks were determined by first standardizing the scores achieved by every school in each of the three above variables and weighting those scores. The ratio of quality to price accounted for 60 percent of the overall score; the percentage of all undergraduates receiving need-based grants accounted for 25 percent; and the average discount accounted for 15 percent. The school with the highest total weighted points became No. 1 in its category. The other schools were then ranked in descending order. Schools with the same rank are tied.