Be Valuable

USA Today and Princeton Review think the University is valuable, but not the most valuable private college in the nation. They have ranked public and private colleges around the United States based on the value the schools provide for their cost. Princeton was ranked fourth, down from third last year.

The rankings use the financial aid rate, the cost of the school when aid is taken into account, and the academics of the school, based on admission statistics and opinions given by students. They considered 650 public and private colleges.

This comes shortly after a report finding that Princeton students graduate with the least debt of all students at New Jersey colleges.

Private Colleges

1. Swarthmore

Swarthmore, Pa.

2. Harvard

Cambridge, Mass.

3. Wesleyan

Macon, Ga.

4. Princeton

Princeton, N.J.

5. Yale

New Haven, Conn.

6. Williams

Williamstown, Mass.

7. Rice

Houston, Texas

8. MIT

Cambridge, Mass.

9. Amherst

Amherst, Mass.

10. Wellesley

Wellesley, Mass.

Public Colleges

1. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Va.

2. Hunter College (CUNY)

New York, N.Y.

3. New College of Florida

Sarasota, Fla.

4. Florida State University

Tallahassee, Fla.

5. University of Colorado

Boulder, Colo.

6. Binghamton University (SUNY)

Binghamton, N.Y.

7. University of Georgia

Athens, Ga.

8. Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Va.

9. Texas A&M University

College Station, Texas

10. University of Oklahoma

Norman, Okla.