SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College has been named to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s list of the Top 300 Best College Values of 2016, coming in at #116 and ranking as the top South Carolina institution on the overall list as well as the list of liberal arts colleges.
Introduced in 1998, the rankings highlight public schools, private universities and private liberal arts colleges that combine outstanding academics with affordable cost. In addition, Kiplinger has ranked the top 100 best values in each category.
Wofford earned the #61 spot on the magazine’s list of 100 best values in private liberal arts colleges. The college consistently ranks high on the Kiplinger’s “best value” lists.
“We are pleased to again be recognized by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance as a best value college,” Wofford President Nayef Samhat says. “We consistently land on such lists in various national college guides and publications. These recognitions reflect Wofford’s long-term commitment to balancing two important priorities: offering an outstanding residential educational program and focusing on affordability for a wide range of students and families.”
Kiplinger assesses value by measurable standards of academic quality and affordability. Quality measures include the admission rate, the percentage of students who return for sophomore year, the student-faculty ratio and four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include sticker price, financial aid and average debt at graduation. Many schools have appeared on the list multiple times, a testament to the consistent value these colleges provide.
“We start with a universe of 1,200 schools, so each school on our rankings, from number 1 to number 300, is a best value,” says Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. “Families can use the list as a starting point and then tailor it to each student’s preference for such things as size, location, campus culture and major.”
The complete rankings are now available online at Kiplinger.com/links/college and will appear in print in the February 2016 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, on newsstands Tuesday, Jan. 5.