Vanderbilt University was judged No. 15 as a “best value” university in rankings released by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
Vanderbilt held the same ranking last year in Kiplinger’s listings of universities that best combine outstanding economic value with exceptional education.
“Families hit by the economic downturn may feel that private institutions are out of their financial reach, but they will be surprised by our findings,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s. “Most of the top-notch schools on the Kiplinger 100 offer generous financial aid packages.”
Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos announced in October that Vanderbilt would replace need-based student loans with institutional grants and scholarships beginning in fall 2009 for all students with demonstrated financial need. As a result of a seven-year initiative to reduce student indebtedness, the university in recent years has increasingly used outright grants and scholarships rather than loans to meet students’ financial needs.
Kiplinger’s ranked universities and liberal arts colleges separately, with Pomona College No. 1 in the latter category. California Institute of Technology was the top-ranked university, followed by Yale, Princeton, Rice and Duke. Vanderbilt was ranked between No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 16 Brandeis.
For the full rankings, go to www.kiplinger.com/money/collegevalues. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has provided information on investments, taxes, saving and other personal financial issues since 1947.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu