The Princeton Review and USA Today have joined forces to rank the 2013 Best Value Colleges and two Houston institutions made the cut.
Just behind Northeastern power houses Harvard, Princeton and Yale, Rice University — or "Houston's answer to the Ivy League" — took No. 7 in the list of the Top 10 Private Colleges, an honor attributed to relatively low tuition, great financial aid offerings and a vibrant academic environment.
Data points considered for the ranking include academic ratings, financial aid ratings and tuition.
The University of Houston ranked among the Top 75 colleges for best value on the public school side of things — and there, the value is only getting better, thanks to the unflinching leadership of UH chancellor and president Renu Khator, who recently received a major pay increase from the school.
All of the colleges selected for the rankings, explains the Princeton Review, offer academic excellence at an approachable price point, "either via a comparatively low sticker price or generous financial aid (or both!). Students who attend these schools don't have to mortgage their futures to pay for their degrees."
Data points considered for the ranking include academic ratings, financial aid ratings and tuition GPA (or the total cost of attendance minus the average gift aid awarded), as well as average debt at graduation.
Three other Texas pillars of higher education also made the list: The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin.
Rice University took No. 7 on the list for private colleges.
Sante's Garden Room is decorated with two olive trees.
Photo by Chris Furia