<p>Being Div 1 for sports has nothing to do with quality- eg UW Madison and UW Green Bay are both Div 1, but at opposite ends of the spectrum academically. Improving is not the same as having arrived, it may help later students, but not now. I wonder what would happen with a list of value divided into sections based on the caliber of college applicants- a great value for the average college student could be a poor choice for the top student; like telling the school val/NMS to save money by going to the local community college or tech college since they can get all the freshman courses and have smaller classes... Taking test scores into account, separating the highest from the average, then doing the financial analysis would be a better way. Despite its flaws, at least US News... doesn't try to mix all schools in the same rating list.</p>
<p>one thing to consider for UNC is the worst kept secret in NC...even if your in-state it's remarkably competative if you come from either of nationally recognized school systems in Wake (Raleigh) or Mechlenburg(Charlotte) county ...The UNC admissions accept only a set # of students from each NC county based on population, therefore even if your a superior student in either of these most populous counties, your at a disadvantage against the less populated counties with lower academically performing students.</p>
<p>The cost:value ratios will shake out VERY differently for my family, but, yeah, it's fun to have a different list to debate, so thanks for sharing. </p>
<p>P.S. I have been to several of those campuses, and lived next to one for a whole summer.</p>
<p>frankie38- UB, not Buffalo State, right?</p>
<p>Why was SUNY University at Buffalo not on the list? It's one of the top (if not THE top) public research university in the country, has lots of choice and a good rep.</p>
<p>For undergrads, Geneseo is significantly better. But I would have thought to find it higher on the list, too (it is there - #89).</p>
<p>What's The Difference Between Instate Ranking About Outstate Ranking What Is That Mean?????????????????????</p>
<p>***? How did UIUC drop from #8 to #30 but it actually improved in US News' rankings.</p>
<p>where can i get a list like this for schools with the best financial aid?</p>
<p>Maybe it would be more useful if they published a list for every separate state (that takes care of the OOS factor). But that would be cumbersome.</p>
<p>hm07</p>
<p>SUNY at Buffalo, is one of the 4 university centers of SUNY. I know they call themselves UB now....</p>
<p>This school pleasantly surprises me with the many different academic programs that it offers. For example, SUNY Buffalo has nationally recognized Pharmacy program.</p>
<p>'University of Michigan, for sure.</p>
<p>WOOO YEAH BABY--CHAPEL HILL 2011</p>
<h1>1 in more than just one way.</h1>
<p>NJ - the total cost to attend is noted by the headings
- In-State Total Costs
- In-State Costs After Aid
- Total Out-of-State Costs </p>
<p>And I agree LOL - trying to get my head around $41K being a best value?!? :D</p>
<p>
[quote]
***? How did UIUC drop from #8 to #30 but it actually improved in US News' rankings.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You assume that one or both sets of rankings map to some hard, objective set of standards that produce truth. None of which is true.</p>
<p>What I find particularly annoying about Kiplinger's ratings is that it's all about money. I'm not saying that cost doesn't have to be met and isn't of some importance but it says nothing about "fit," reducing a college education to something akin to buying a car or some kitschy knick-nack on e-bay.</p>
<p>I don't know why the University of Wisconsin was ommitted from this list. They provide in-state and out-of-state students with the lowest tuition in the Big 10 and are an outstanding public often ranked in the top 6 or 7 schools.</p>
<p>They weren't omitted from the list - UWisc ranked 25th.</p>
<p>"What I find particularly annoying about Kiplinger's ratings is that it's all about money."</p>
<p>The first 5 qualifications for the list are measures of academic quality, and have nothing to do with money (except that things like "retention" are in fact surrogates for family income.)</p>
<p>Isn't U of Iowa less expensive than U of Wisconsin for both in and out of state?</p>
<p>Does Kiplinger lay out the whole formula in complete, math-teacher-says-show-your-work form? They can claim anything they want about what factors they way and how they weigh them, but do they let readers plug in their own numbers and see what happens according to their formula?</p>
<p>"they mention that academics trumps cost in their ranking"</p>
<p>if this were true, Florida would rank a lot lower! </p>
<p>And I agree, Wisconsin should not have been omitted.</p>
<p>it does surprise me that SUNY Buffalo isn't on the list. imo, its a better school than Binghamton (in terms of academics AND student level of enjoyment). Stony Brook is alright but has too much of a commuter atmosphere. and if you're looking for a great liberal arts education, Geneseo outranks all.</p>