UW-Madison a leader in value among public universities

According to a national survey, the University of Wisconsin–Madison is among the best values in public universities.

For the second year in a row, the magazine Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has ranked UW–Madison 13th in its list of 100 best values in public colleges.

The full list of rankings may be found in the magazine’s February 2013 edition, as well as online here.

Reviewing data from nearly 600 public four-year colleges and universities, Kiplinger’s assesses quality according to a number of measurable standards, including admission rates, the percentage of students who return for their sophomore years, student-faculty ratios and four-year graduation rates. Cost criteria include low sticker prices, abundant financial aid and low average debt at graduation.

“We applaud this year’s top 100 schools for their efforts to maintain academic standards while meeting the financial needs of their students,” says Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was deemed the nation’s top value among public colleges. On the Top 100 list, the University of Michigan is ranked 11th. Several other Big 10 universities rank near the middle of the list, including Indiana University (39th), the University of Illinois (43rd), the University of Minnesota (45th), Michigan State University (46th), Penn State University (48th), the University of Iowa (49th) and Purdue University (51st).