Best Value Colleges In VA, DC: Princeton Review

GEORGETOWN, DC — The Princeton Review has released its annual edition of best value colleges that provide an "exceptional" return on investment and seven from Virginia and one from the District of Columbia made the cut. The annual book has seven ranking lists that each focus on different aspects of financial aid and career prep. It's meant to help individuals who want affordable colleges that are academically outstanding and lead to rewarding careers.

Here are the best value colleges in Virginia:

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg
• University of Virginia, Charlottesville
• Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden Sydney
• Christopher Newport University, Newport News
• Hollins University, Roanoke
• University of Richmond, Richmond
• The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg

And this is the best value college in Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University.

The list of 200 schools is not ranked hierarchically, though there is a ranking of the top 50. The Princeton Review, an education services company, selected the 200 schools based on data from surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges in 2017-18. The schools were asked about topics including academics, cost, financial aid, career services, graduation rates, student debt and alumni support.

The list was also based on student and alumni answers. They were asked about starting and mid-career salaries and job satisfaction.

“Only 7 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges made it into this book,” lead author Robert Franek said in a release. “We salute them for their stellar academics and generous aid awards to students based on need and/or merit. They also provide their undergrads with career services from day one plus strong networks of alumni connections.”

California Institute of Technology claimed the No. 1 spot on the main ranking list, followed by Stanford University and Princeton University. Here are the top 10 best value colleges:

1. California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, CA
2. Stanford University — Stanford, CA
3. Princeton University — Princeton, NJ
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Cambridge, MA
5. Williams College — Williamstown, MA
6. Harvey Mudd College — Claremont, CA
7. Yale University — New Haven, CT
8. Harvard College — Cambridge, MA
9. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art — New York, NY
10. University of Virginia — Charlottesville, VA

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Shutterstock