UF students may be dropping serious dollars on tuition hikes, but they’re getting the third-best bang for their buck in the country.
The Princeton Review ranked UF third among public universities on its Best Value Colleges for 2011 list, which included 100 schools.
It’s the first time UF has cracked the top 10 according to UF spokesman Steve Orlando.
The top 100 schools on the list include 50 private and 50 public universities, with the University of Virginia taking the top spot for public colleges and Swarthmore College ranking number one among the private ones.
The list was compiled based on schools’ cost of attendance, financial aid and academics.
Thomas Goldkamp, a UF senior, came to the school partly because of the financial aid he was offered.
“I’m from New Orleans, so when I came from out of state it was a big deal for me because they gave me a good scholarship,” he said.
He wasn’t surprised the school made the list but was surprised it was ranked so high given the financial aid cuts students have faced, particularly to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.
Despite those cuts, UF still ranks as one of the best public college bargains in the U.S. with a price tag of $5,020 in tuition and fees for in-state students, according to the university website.
The College Board website lists the average annual cost of tuition and fees for in-state students at a public four-year university at $7,605.
“With the economy, I think parents are being much more conscious about what they’re paying [for college],” Orlando said.
Orlando also said the quality of UF students, which has increased along with the competitiveness of the admissions process, was another factor in its high ranking from the Princeton Review.
The top 100 list was based on data that included student surveys taken from fall 2009 to fall 2010, as well as fall 2010 surveys about school costs and financial aid, according to the Princeton Review website.
The top 10 in the public and private college categories were ranked, but the remaining schools were published in alphabetical order without rankings.
The Princeton Review isn’t the only company recognizing UF as a good bargain for students.
The Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked UF second behind the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on its 2011 list of the 100 best values in public colleges.
UF has maintained its second-place position since 2005.
