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College ranks highly in value according to Kiplinger

July 31, 2019
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The College of Idaho checked in as the top school in Idaho and no. 132 among all liberal arts colleges nationwide, according to a recent report about the top values among colleges and universities issued by Kiplinger Personal Finance.

Kiplinger’s Best College Values 2019 list includes 500 schools overall – the College makes the overall list at no. 382 – with filters in place, allowing people to compare schools based on geography, number of students, graduation rate, overall cost, and more. Users can also separate public schools from private and further look specifically for liberal arts colleges. No other Idaho school was ranked in the top 400.

Of the of the 131 liberal arts schools ranked ahead of the College, less than 10 had a lower total cost of attendance.

“To come up with our best values, we start with data on nearly 1,200 public and private four-year schools from Peterson’s Undergraduate Database, then add our own reporting,” Associate Editor Kaitlin Pitsker wrote on the Kiplinger website, explaining the site’s process and criteria. “This year, we expanded our list to include 400 schools, plus 100 schools that just missed our list but also deliver great value. We narrow the list based on measures of academic quality. We then rank each school using cost and financial aid measures. Quality criteria account for 55% of total points, and cost criteria account for 45%.”

You can view the rankings and lists by clicking here. The College of Idaho’s data can be found here.

The College was also ranked the top college or university in Idaho by College Consensus as well as being included earlier this month for the ninth-straight year in the 2020 Fiske Guide to Colleges, with The College of Idaho being the only liberal arts college selected in the Guide between the Rocky Mountains and the west coast. The College of Idaho was also selected as the top college or university in Idaho by the prestigious Wall Street Journal last fall.

The College of Idaho has a 128-year-old legacy of excellence. The College is known for its outstanding academic programs, winning athletics tradition and history of producing successful graduates, including seven Rhodes Scholars, three governors, and countless business leaders and innovators. Its distinctive PEAK Curriculum challenges students to attain competency in the four knowledge peaks of humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and a professional field—empowering them to earn a major and three minors in four years. The College’s close-knit, residential campus is located in Caldwell, where its proximity both to Boise and to the world-class outdoor activities of southwest Idaho’s mountains and rivers offers unique opportunities for learning beyond the classroom.  For more information, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.