Rice drops out of top ten best value school ranking

By Yasna Haghdoost     2/11/14 6:00pm

Rice University was not included in Princeton Review's Top 10 Best Value Colleges for 2014.In 2010 and 2013, Princeton Review placed Rice at No. 7. In 2005, Rice ranked No. 5, and in 2009, Rice was No. 4 on the list. 

The list was released Jan. 28 and includes 75 public and 75 private universities. The top ten schools are ranked in both the public and private categories, while the remaining schools remain unranked. Rice was, however, included in the the 75 private schools that were listed, despite not having made it into the Top 10. No Texas universities, either public or private, made it into the Top 10 list. 

The ranking is based on a survey of 2000 undergraduate universities that factors cost of attendance, academics and financial aid into its evaluation. Average student debt after graduation and percentage of graduating seniors taking out loans were also factored into consideration. 

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According to the Princeton Review's press release, schools who made it on the list provided excellent academics at an affordable price, either by a low cost or through financial aid programs. 

"Students who attend these schools don't have to mortgage their futures to pay for their degrees," the Princeton Review website said.

Baker College freshman Olivia Aguilar believes Rice's exclusion from the Top 10 Best Value Colleges of 2014 is indicative of the rise in tuition costs in recent years. 

"While I do think that Rice should definitely be on that list because of the extensive opportunities and resources that this school offers its students, maybe this list shows that it is time Rice analyzed its cost of attendance," Aguilar said. "Every year, cost of attendance increase well above the rate of national inflation. Rice is awesome, but maybe we aren't competing against other schools like those [on the Top 10 list] because we keep driving our costs up."

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