The College of Charleston provides one of the nation’s best values in education, according to the February 2012 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine. The College of Charleston jumped more than 20 spots to number 61 on the best value for an in-state education among public colleges and universities. The College is number 59 for best value for out-of-state students.
Kiplinger’s rankings are based on data provided by more than 500 public four-year colleges supplemented by the magazine’s independent research. This year Kiplinger’s retooled their rankings to give more weight to criteria they consider crucial to academic value, including the percentage of students who return for sophomore year and the four-year graduation rate. Each category measures a college’s ability to keep students engaged and on track for graduation.
Kiplinger’s narrows the list of 500 to 120 based on measures of academic quality including SAT or ACT scores, admissions and retention rates, student-faculty ratio and graduation rates (the College of Charleston’s is the highest in South Carolina). Kiplinger’s then ranks each school based on cost and financial aid.
The College was one of three South Carolina schools to make the list, and has been included on the list for the past six years.
