Allegheny College Featured in Princeton Review’s “Colleges That Pay You Back”

Allegheny College is one of the nation’s best colleges for students seeking an outstanding education with great career preparation and at an affordable price, according to the Princeton Review.

The education services company features Allegheny in the 2018 edition of its newly released book “Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck.”

The Princeton Review chose the schools based on data it collected in 2016–17 from its surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges. The company also factored in data from its surveys of students attending the schools and surveys of school alumni that PayScale.com conducted through April 2017.

In all, The Princeton Review evaluated more than 40 data points to tally ROI (return on investment) ratings of the colleges that determined its selection of the 200 schools for the book. Topics covered everything from academics, cost, and financial aid to graduation rates, student debt, alumni salaries and job satisfaction.

Allegheny also ranked No. 15 nationally on the guidebook’s list of the Top 25 Best Schools for Making an Impact. Schools were selected based on student ratings and responses to survey questions covering community service opportunities at their school, student government, sustainability efforts, and on-campus student engagement. The Princeton Review also took into account PayScale.com’s percentage of alumni from each school that reported having high job meaning.

“We salute Allegheny College, and all of our Colleges That Pay You Back schools. They stand out for their outstanding academics and their affordability via generous financial aid to students with need and/or comparatively low sticker prices,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief and lead author of the book. “Students at these colleges also have access to extraordinary career services from their freshman year on, plus a lifetime of valuable alumni support.”

In their profile of Allegheny College, the Princeton Review’s editors praise Allegheny as “a place where students have full control over the education they want to have and ‘can put their talents and skills to their future careers.’” The guidebook cites the college’s emphasis on promoting collaboration and exploration across all subject areas, with students combining their interests and talents to declare both a major and a minor.

Students quoted in the guidebook say that the Allegheny’s small class sizes allow for “as much one-on-one time as you need during office hours” with faculty and that the college’s Office of Career Education is “very helpful and proactive with internships and job placement.” Allegheny faculty members, the guidebook notes, also are “excellent resources” for helping students find and apply for internships.

In addition to its inclusion in “Colleges That Pay You Back,” Allegheny College was named among the top 50 Best Value Schools among national liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 “Best Colleges” rankings. U.S. News also recognized Allegheny as the sixth most innovative national liberal arts college in the country.