Furman listed as best value in Kiplinger’s

Furman’s Rose Garden in the fall.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has included Furman University on its 2014 list of the country’s best values in private colleges.

Furman ranked No. 74 among the top 100 private, liberal arts schools that offer “high-quality academics at a reasonable cost.”  Kiplinger’s ranked the top 100 private universities and top 100 liberal arts schools in its most recent issue of the magazine.

According to the magazine, the schools on the list “exemplify the attributes parents and students look for in higher education, including small class sizes, a good freshman retention rate and a high four-year graduation rate.”

The rankings strive to measure academic quality and affordability. Academic criteria include student admission rate, test scores of incoming freshmen, ratio of students to faculty members, and four- and five-year graduation rates. On the cost side, the magazine measured sticker price, availability and average amount of need-based and merit-based financial aid, and average student debt at graduation.

“With President Obama’s recent emphasis on rating colleges and universities based on their value, our rankings serve as a valuable resource to help students and families make more informed choices,” says Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. “Combining a high-quality education with an affordable price tag is a challenge, but the colleges on this year’s list offer the best of both worlds.”

The Kiplinger organization has been a leader in personal finance and business forecasting for nine decades.  Founded in 1920 by W.M. Kiplinger, the company developed one of the nation’s first successful newsletters in modern times. The Kiplinger Letter, launched in 1923, remains the longest continuously published newsletter in the United States. Kiplinger created the nation’s first personal finance magazine in 1947.

For more information, visit the Kiplinger’s website.