News and views for the UB community
Published June 19, 2014 This content is archived.
UB again has been selected as one of the nation’s 75 “best values” among public colleges and universities, according to The Princeton Review’s national survey of American colleges and universities.
In its profile, the editors at The Princeton Review cited UB for its “stellar academics and for all it is doing to make college affordable, especially for applicants with need in these tough economic times.”
The review praised UB for its “emphasis on research, offering labs that are open 24 hours a day” and said that financial aid in the form of scholarships is targeted to “students with financial need, first-generation college students and students who demonstrated their ability to contribute to the cultural diversity of the campus.”
According to The Princeton Review, UB students who were surveyed about why they love the university described the wide variety of academic opportunities available, saying, “There are more choices. You can choose many different combinations of academics and social activities with the support in place.”
Students also liked UB’s diversity, explaining that “although the typical student is of traditional age, there really isn’t a ‘typical’ student—the student body is very diverse in terms of religion, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender and orientation.”
“The Best Value Colleges: 2013 Edition,” or “The 150 Best Buy Colleges and What It Takes to Get In,” features profiles of 75 public and 75 private colleges with detailed information about the campus culture, facilities and financial aid offerings. Of the 75 schools in each group, the top 10 colleges are ranked one to 10, and the remaining 65 are listed in alphabetical order.
UB was included in the alphabetical list. The colleges and universities included in the top 75 were commended for “all they are doing to keep costs down while maintaining excellent academic programs,” according to the editors of The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review rankings and UB's full profile are available on the review's website.
The Princeton Review selected its “best value colleges” based on institutional data and student-opinion surveys collected from schools the company regards as the nation’s academically best undergraduate institutions. The selection process analyzed more than 30 data points, broadly covering academics, cost and financial aid. Data on academics came from its fall 2011 to fall 2012 surveys of school administrators. Data from students attending the schools over these years included their assessments of their professors and their satisfaction with their financial aid awards.
UB also ranked 33rd in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s 2013 list of the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges. UB ranked 38th last year, 46th in 2011 and 70th in 2010.
Kiplinger’s started with a pool of nearly 600 public four-year schools. It ranked institutions based on SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and graduation rates, as well as financial aid and student debt upon graduation. Measures of academic quality carried more weight than measures of affordability.
UB’s score improved, “thanks to its high four-year graduation rate, low average student debt at graduation, abundant financial aid, a low sticker price and overall great value,” according to Kiplinger’s. More information—as well as sortable school rankings and other interactive features—will be available on newsstands in Kiplinger’s February 2013 issue and online.