Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine Names University of Richmond to "Best Values in Private Colleges" List

January 8, 2004

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has named the University of Richmond to its list of 100 best values in private colleges across the United States.

Richmond placed number 32, ahead of such colleges and universities as Georgetown (33), Brown (34), Carleton (35), Cornell (41), Wake Forest (53), Furman (58), Vanderbilt (74) and George Washington (100).

Published in the January issue, the list ranks the 100 best values based on a combination of academic excellence, generous aid packages and lower total costs. The magazine's scoring placed greater weight on institutional quality-approximately two-thirds of the final score-than total costs, which counted one-third.

"A good value isn't necessarily the college that charges the lowest price," the magazine said. It noted that need-blind admission policies, such as Richmond's, bring top private colleges within the financial reach of most families. Under Richmond's policy, a prospective student's ability to pay the cost of tuition is not a factor in admission. In addition, Richmond currently meets 100 percent of an admitted student's demonstrated eligibility for need-based financial aid.

More than 60 percent of Richmond's undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid.