Rice Tops Princeton Review’s Best-Value List of Private Colleges

Rice University is the nation’s No. 1 best value among private colleges, according to the 2008 edition of the Princeton Review’s “America’s Best-Value Colleges.” The rankings are based on data obtained from administrators at more than 650 colleges during the 2005–06 academic year and surveys of students attending those schools. Criteria included academics, tuition, financial aid and student borrowing.

The book refers to Rice as the “Ivy of the South” and cites the small class size and “an array of varied and challenging academic programs.” Describing the tree-lined campus as “an oasis of architectural beauty,” the book highlights Rice’s residential college system. The write-up also mentions that Rice graduates have one of the lowest debt burdens among graduates of highly selective schools in the U.S.