New College Named a Kiplinger 'Best Value'

Sarasota's own is becoming a better bargain, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.

The college is now on the No. 5 spot in Kiplinger's annual 100 best values in public colleges list, moving up from No. 11 in 2011.

This is the ninth consecutive year that New College has placed among the nation’s top 20 public colleges overall on the Kiplinger's list.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took the top honors, a spot it has held consistently since Kiplinger’s first analysis in 1998. The University of Florida was ranked no. 2, followed by the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and New College.

“The University of Florida and New College of Florida (fifth in our rankings) not only post prices that are less than half the average for private schools — $38,589, according to the College Board — but also beat the national average for public schools ($17,131), underlining the weight we give to affordability,” states Kiplinger’s.

New College’s total in-state tuition was listed at $15,458, which included room and board and the cost of books and supplies.

Kiplinger’s describes New College as “a small, liberal-arts honors school overlooking Sarasota Bay in Sarasota [offering] a low student-faculty ratio, a low sticker price and exceptional financial aid: Students who qualify for need-based aid pay only $5,316 a year. Student borrowers graduate with less than $12,000 in average debt, about half the national average for students.”

The annual public school rankings appear in Kiplinger’s February 2012 issue —on newsstands today— and online at www.kiplinger.com/links/college.

“As states cut funding for higher education and tuition continues to climb, the word ‘value’ becomes more significant than ever,” said Jane Bennett Clark, senior editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. “This year’s top 100 public schools deliver strong academics at reasonable prices. We applaud these institutions for tightening their belts without compromising quality.”

Each year, Kiplinger’s selects 100 schools from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities provided by Peterson’s/Nelnet, assessing quality and affordability according to a number of measurable standards.

This year, Kiplinger’s revamped the rankings to give more weight to academic value, such as the percentage of students who return for sophomore year and four-year graduation rates. Cost criteria included low sticker prices, abundant financial aid and low average debt at graduation. For more methodology specifics, go to www.kiplinger.com/links/college.

 Kiplinger’s Top 10 Values in Public Colleges for 2011-12

Public College

Total Cost Per Year In-State

Total Cost Per Year

Out of State

Average Debt at Graduation

1. U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

$17,628

$37,454

$16,165

2.  University of Florida

15,526

37,803

 16,013

3. University of Virginia

21,626

45,948

 19,384

4. College of William and Mary

23,054

45,331

 21,367

5. New College of Florida

15,458

38,487

11,458

6. University of Georgia

19,258

37,468

15,938

7. University of California, Berkeley

29,027

51,905

16,056

8. University of Maryland, College Park

19,409

36,780

22,696

9. University of California, Los Angeles

28,174

51,052

16,733

10. University of California, San Diego

26,232

49,110

18,757