EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University has been ranked as one of the nation’s 50 “best value” public universities by the Princeton Review.
It marks the first time MSU was selected by the publication, which features 100 schools in all – 50 public and 50 private colleges and universities.
This year, the Princeton Review teamed with USA Today to present the rankings.
In selecting MSU, the Princeton Review noted, among other things, the university’s Undergraduate Research Initiative, which provides undergraduates with valuable research experience; the Freshman Seminars program, which gives incoming students the opportunity to study abroad; and the university’s dedication to financial aid.
More than 70 percent of MSU students receive some form of financial aid. Over the past five years, MSU has increased the amount of financial aid available to students by 67 percent.
Among the criteria the Princeton Review used to select the schools were academics, cost of attendance and financial aid. Administrators and students at 650 colleges were surveyed.
Most of the data came from surveys conducted from fall 2009 through fall 2010; all cost and financial aid data came from fall 2010 surveys.
Among public universities, the University of Virginia was ranked the country’s No. 1 best value university. Among private schools, Swarthmore College was ranked No. 1.
The Princeton Review is an education services company. For more than 28 years it has helped students through college and graduate school test preparation and private tutoring.
The USA Today story is available here.
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Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.