Princeton tops Best Value Colleges list

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Princeton University ranked No. 1 for Best Value Private College Overall on The Princeton Review’s list of Best Value Colleges for 2022.

Four other Garden State higher-education institutions also made the full list, which is presented alphabetically only: The College of New Jersey, Drew University, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Stevens Institute of Technology. All five of these schools made the list in 2021, as well.

The annual list names public and private colleges that earn the highest return on investment rating, which the Princeton Review tallies using more than 40 data points. Princeton University received the highest ROI rating among the private colleges. The University of California-Berkeley was the No. 1 Best Value Public College Overall.

Princeton also was the No. 1 private school on the Best Value Colleges for Financial Aid list. According to the Review, the average scholarship awarded to Princeton undergrads with need last year was $61,928, reducing their cost of attendance to $12,262 from $74,190.

Both Princeton and UC-Berkeley “offer exceptional academics and career services and generous financial aid,” the Review said.

“The schools we chose as our Best Value Colleges for 2022 are a select group: they comprise only about 7% of the nation’s four-year undergraduate institutions,” Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, said in a statement.

The Princeton Review chose 209 schools — nine of which are tuition-free — for its 2022 list based on its survey of more than 650 institutions during the 2020-2021 school year, according to the announcement. The Review analyzed school-reported data on academics, cost/financial aid, career services, student debt and graduation rates, as well as data on the levels of job satisfaction and salary of school alumni.

“When we launched our Best Value Colleges project in 2004, paying for college was a daunting challenge for many students and parents,” Franek continued. “Our annual College Hopes & Worries Survey, which we debuted in 2003, had revealed deep concerns about college affordability. We have seen those concerns rise every year since. Among the respondents to our 2022 survey—more than 14,100 college applicants and parents of applicants—80% told us financial aid will be ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ necessary to pay for college, and their biggest worry was ‘level of debt’ to pay for the degree.’ However, 99% of our respondents said they believe college is ‘worth it.’ We agree. We recommend every one of our Best Value Colleges for 2022 as well worth it.”

The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.