Kiplinger’s Ranks Allegheny College Among Nation’s 100 “Best Values”

MEADVILLE, Pa. – Nov. 1, 2010 – Allegheny College is included among the 100 “best values” in liberal arts colleges in the nation, according to Kiplinger’s, a private financial advising company.

Kiplinger’s bases its evaluations on quantifiable measures that include admission rates, test scores of incoming freshmen, student-faculty ratio, on-time graduation rates, and financial factors such as tuition, room and board fees, and financial aid.

“It’s always gratifying to be listed among the top schools by publications that emphasize value,” said Dean of Enrollment Jennifer Winge. “For families with college-age students, it’s important to know that you don’t have to sacrifice the best educational experience for your child to find a college that’s affordable.”

Twelve colleges in Pennsylvania made Kiplinger’s top 100 list of best values among liberal arts colleges. In addition to Allegheny, those colleges include Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College, Bucknell University, Dickinson College, Gettysburg College, Haverford College, Lafayette College, Muhlenburg College, Ursinus College, Juniata College and Susquehanna University.

 “We’re particularly pleased when we see the company that Kiplinger has placed us in,” said Winge. Kiplinger ranks Allegheny ahead of many other prestigious liberal arts colleges, including the College of Wooster, Kalamazoo College, Lewis & Clark College and Bard College.

Kiplinger’s is the latest national publication to include Allegheny among the nation’s finest liberal arts colleges. Allegheny College is also featured in Princeton Review’s The Best 373 Colleges, an annual guidebook profiling North America’s top institutions for undergraduate education; Washington Monthly’s “2010 College Rankings: What Can Colleges Do for the Country?,” which ranks Allegheny College No. 36 of the top 252 liberal arts colleges in the nation; and The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011, which profiles the country’s best and most interesting colleges and universities.

Allegheny is also one of 40 colleges included in Loren Pope’s Colleges That Change Lives and is featured in Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That Is Best for You and Peterson’s Competitive Colleges, 400 Colleges That Attract the Best and the Brightest.

 “We’re honored that all of these guidebooks have recognized the distinctive educational experience we offer,” said Winge. “But while guidebooks are an important resource for students and families in the college search process, we believe there’s no better way for students to discover if a school is a good fit than by visiting its campus in person.”

In addition to publishing its own rankings, Kiplinger gives readers the opportunity to vote on which private colleges represent the best value. Readers can log on to www.kiplinger.com to vote. Currently Allegheny ranks at #3 in the readers’ poll.