Rice University has been selected by Princeton Review as one of the country’s top five best values among private schools for 2012.
The 2012 edition of the Princeton Review’s “The Best Value Colleges” refers to Rice as “one of the top universities of the nation” and notes that Rice is currently ranked No. 1 for happiest students.
“Rice’s consistently high ranking on the best-value lists by the Princeton Review, Kiplinger and others reflects its success at keeping its high-quality education affordable and accessible to talented students from all backgrounds,” Rice President David Leebron said.
The rankings are based on data about the cost of attendance and financial aid, quality of academics, and on student opinion surveys collected from over 600 colleges and universities.
Rice admits students regardless of their economic standings and provides financial-aid packages that meet 100 percent of students’ demonstrated need. In addition to Rice’s “terrific financial-aid policy,” the Princeton Review comments on the numerous merit scholarships offered at the university.
“The word ‘value’ is important here,” Leebron said. “It encompasses not only our comparatively low tuition, generous student-aid programs and need-blind admission, but also the dedication of our faculty members and their personal engagement with our students made possible by one of the lowest student-faculty ratios in the country.”
Academically, Rice University was placed as No. 17 in the 2012 edition of National University Rankings of Best Colleges. There are 3,529 students enrolled and the student-faculty ratio is 6:1, with 69.2 percent of the classes having fewer than 20 students.
Even for students who receive no financial assistance, Rice remains one of the best values in higher education. “With tuition set at thousands of dollars lower than Ivy League and other peer institutions, Rice walks the walk of keeping the highest caliber of education affordable for all.”
Rice has been among the Princeton Review’s top 10 best values almost every year for the past decade, ranked 3 times as the No. 1 best value.
For more information on the Princeton Review rankings, visit www.princetonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx.
Meredith Gamble, a sophomore from Houston, Texas, is majoring in both Sports Management and Psychology as well as a minor Business.