A First-Class Education at a Bargain Price

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance recently released its ranking of the country’s top 50 values in public higher education, and The College of New Jersey has made the list yet again.  This year, the College took an impressive leap from #19 to #14, jumping ahead of schools such as the University of Maryland-College Park, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of California-Berkley.

The College is the top-ranked public school in the state, beating out Rutgers University-New Brunswick (#43).

According to a Kiplinger’s press release, only 50 public four-year colleges and universities were selected and ranked out of a pool of over 500.  Qualifying factors included academic quality, cost, and financial aid.   The top 50 schools are institutions “where students can receive a grade-A education without accumulating significant debt.”

For the relatively low total cost of $20,619 per year (minus an average financial aid package of about $9,000), in-state students at TCNJ receive a high-caliber education comparable to that of many private colleges, as well as the additional benefit of a 12:1 student-faculty ratio. 

TCNJ is also an exceptional value for students from outside of New Jersey.  Kiplinger’s listed it as the #5 “best value” for out-of-state students. Non-residents can expect to pay $27,165 (minus an average financial aid package of about $9,000). 

For more information on Kiplinger’s “Best Value” rankings, please visit http://kiplinger.com/personalfinance/tools/colleges_upd.