U.S. News & World Report recently unveiled its 2013 Best Colleges rankings, packed with data and information for more than 1,600 colleges and universities. Students who are interested in attending a top-ranked college may assume that many of these schools are out of reach financially. But according to data provided by schools in an annual survey for U.S. News, some of the top National Universities in the country are also considered Best Value Schools.
Colleges and universities that make the list of Best Value Schools are ranked based on three variables: the ratio of quality to price; the percentage of all undergrads who receive need-based grants; and the average discount off a school's total cost.
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Among the top five Best Value Schools (pictured in the infographic below), three schools—Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University—rank among the top three National Universities in the country. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University tied for sixth in the same ranking of National Universities.
Below is an infographic that highlights the average discount off a school's total cost—tuition, room and board, fees, books, and other expenses—for those who receive the average need-based grant at the top five Best Value Schools among National Universities. The average discount data are correct as of Sept. 26, 2012. (Note: In this infographic, while we have ordered the schools based on their ranking among Best Value Schools, we are highlighting only one of the three data points taken into consideration. Although Stanford has a higher average discount off the school's total cost than Princeton, it is still fourth among Best Value Schools.)
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