http://customsites.yahoo.com/financiallyfit/finance/article-108629-3902-0-best-values-in-public-colleges-2009-10?ywaad=ad0035

I'm not sure I agree with UNC at #1. Or the inclusion of Maryland and NC State (apparently the authors were ACC fans). Ohio U. and Miami should have been mentioned.

I am pretty sure that Ohio has some of the most expensive in state cost in the US. That is why no Ohio colleges are ranked very high.

Ohio State doesn't care about what it costs for school primarily because if you attend here you're basically guaranteed to be set for life financially. I can't think of one Ohio State grad that's willfully unemployed, most are doing very well, and you can't say that for most schools outside of the Ivy league.

No kidding about the Ohio in-state tuition being a farce...

My son's out-of-state TRB bill at Western Kentucky has been within $200 or so per year of what his in-state bill would have been at Ohio University.

My nephew applied to UNC four years ago - the in-state tuition and fee total was incredibly low for instate, and they require that 90% of each incoming freshman class be NC residents (Out of state? You better be a jock, have about 3.9 GPA, or just plan on transferring in as a soph). According to their website, current-year tuition and fees for one semester total $2813 for instate and $11,757 for out-of-state.

No wonder both of the big state universities made the list - especially since it was limited to in-state charges.

"My son's out-of-state TRB bill at Western Kentucky has ....."

whoa whoa whoa, stop there. He's a Hilltopper? Can he explain what that weird red thing for a mascot they have?

Manhattan Buckeye - yes, he is. In fact, he dated one of the women who "was" Big Red a couple of times (there are several students who "are" Big Red during the course of the year - they'll go through two or three people during the course of a football game on a hot day). It didn't work out.

There IS no explanation for Big Red. He just... is.

There is a persistent rumor that he is the illegitimate offspring of a chance encounter between the Cookie Monster and Sasquatch, but the DNA hasn't tested out as yet.

Cat Food Flambe' wrote:
There IS no explanation for Big Red.

Something two states have in common.

sleeper wrote: Ohio State doesn't care about what it costs for school primarily because if you attend here you're basically guaranteed to be set for life financially. I can't think of one Ohio State grad that's willfully unemployed, most are doing very well, and you can't say that for most schools outside of the Ivy league.

you can say it about denison

"There IS no explanation for Big Red. He just... is. "

Yeah, it freaks me out that's how strange it is. Have you guys been to the Corvette plant there? Very, very cool. At least it was a decade or so ago when I drove by Bowling Green to go to school.

queencitybuckeye wrote:

Cat Food Flambe' wrote:
There IS no explanation for Big Red.

Something two states have in common.

...

No Ohio schools mentioned because public cost here is nuts, even for in-state students.

To me the most imporant numbers when considering value aren't instate or out of state tuition, but rather average graduation time and debt at graduation. For instance, UVA had one of the highest debt at graduation at around $19,000, however, 85% of their students graduate in 4 years. NC State on the other hand only had an average graduation debt of $15,000 but a four year graduation rate of only 37% and a six year graduation rate of 70%. That means that while your debt may be $4,000 more at UVA, you will also likely be out of school and in the workforce at least a year before the average NC State student, and you will obviously make $4,000 being employed full time as a college graduate than part-time as a college student, meaning that your debt is actually less, so it ends up being a better value going to UVA.

This is why private schools often end up being just as cheap as public schools, because while the per-ear cost may be very different, most private schools have a much higher 4 year graduation rate than most public universities, so when you spend one more year on average at a public school versus a private college, it often ends up costing the same, and again, you'll likely be in the workforce a year earlier.

I'm happy to see that the school I attended Binghamton University (or the State University of New York) is number 5 on that list, and well-deserved. I got an excellent education, and although it took me some time to get a full-time job in my field of interest, I have been working steadily for nearly five years, graduated with zero college loans or debt.

SUNY-Binghamton is easily the best public school in New York from an academic standpoint IMO, not sure why Geneseo or whatever made the cut. I know people from Brockport, Stony Brook, Albany, Buffalo, etc...Binghamton consistently turned out the most well-rounded people. Socially, from what I understand it can be a bit odd, but from a value perspective it's the flagship school in NY.