By BVS Staff
In this ranking, we highlight the top values among Kentucky colleges and universities. You may also want to check out our ranking of the best value online colleges in Kentucky.
Kentucky may not exactly be renowned for its prestigious academic options, but you'd be remiss to write off an entire state without even a glance at what it has to offer. Upon close inspection, our ranking reveals that Kentucky is home to some true gems in higher education, including the popular University of Kentucky and University of Louisville, small religious colleges that cater to the faithful, and even a school that offers nearly FREE tuition in exchange for work study commitments.
In many states, the highest ranked schools are also the most expensive, and in many cases this is an understandable outcome. Great schools cost more based on the resources they offer, the quality of the professors, the programs available on campus, etc. But Kentucky is one of the rare states in which the very best schools are also some of the most affordable, meaning you'll have no trouble finding a university that balances cost and quality and constitutes a true "best value."
Our Ranking Methodology:
Graduation Rate: This indicator refers to the percentage of students who complete their degree within 150% of normal time (six years for a typical four-year degree program). Schools that perform well in this area have a track record of keeping students engaged and successful for their entire time on campus. We weighted this category 30% of the total and retrieved the information from College Navigator.
Net Price: In order to make sure that cost was still a factor in the ranking, we also considered overall net price as an indicator. Taken from data on College Navigator, "net price" is an approximate value that refers to the average amount of money a student could expect to pay each year after taking into account tuition, room and board, living expenses, scholarship awards, and financial aid packages. We weighted this category 25% of the total.
Acceptance Rate: Academically challenging, popular universities tend to be more selective and thus have a lower acceptance rate. In order to pinpoint those colleges that boast rigorous academics and also receive a large number of applications, we considered acceptance rate – the percentage of students out of the total number of applicants who receive an acceptance letter. We retrieved this information from College Navigator and weighted it 30% of the total.
20-Year Net Return on Investment: Taken from information on the website PayScale, this statistic provides a picture of how much students can expect to make after they graduate from a particular college. More specifically, the figure is calculated by taking the average income an alumnus will make over his or her first 20 years after graduation and subtracting the amount paid in tuition. Schools with a high ROI tend to be better at preparing their students for the job market. We weighted this category only 15% because data was not available for all colleges considered.
After adding all the points, we gave each university a final score out of 200. The schools below have scores ranging from 82 to 163, and each has something different to offer in terms of its cost, quality, and reputation. No one college is perfect (which is why the scores vary so much) but this ranking offers you a premier selection of universities to help get you started on your search for an education in Kentucky.
Ranking the Top Values in Wisconsin Universities and Colleges
Featured Online Programs
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Sources:
College Navigator
Pay Scale
This concludes our ranking of the top values among Kentucky colleges and universities.
About the Author:
Iris Stone began her writing career as a freelance writer and researcher. She now owns and operates a writing and editing firm that works with clients all across the country. Her work has included articles related to education policy, colleges and universities, academic programs, and careers.
