TROY, NY (09/10/2014)(readMedia)-- Several institutions in the area have been named among the top 150 best colleges for your money nationwide by College Factual (www.collegefactual.com), a trusted resource that uses customizable tools and outcomes-based rankings systems to guide students through the college selection process.
In addition to the best value rankings nationwide, these institutions have earned high rankings in a number of other categories as well. These rankings highlight areas where each school performs better than average when compared to other schools on the list, which includes both research universities and liberal arts colleges. A number of outcomes-based factors were used to determine these rankings, including how well the institution retains and graduates students, the average loan debt per student, the boost in expected earnings, percentage of full-time teachers, and the average student loan default rate.
Here's how the following local institutions stacked up:
Saint Ambrose University is ranked 28 in Best Colleges For Your Money Nationwide, 4 out of 728 in Best Value for Business, Management and Marketing, 4 out of 344 in Best Value for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement and Firefighting, and 6 out of 416 in Best Value for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies. You can view all of their rankings here: http://www.collegefactual.com/
Augustana College Illinois is ranked 83 in Best Colleges For Your Money Nationwide, 24 out of 1383 in Most Focused for Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 19 out of 733 in Best Value for Biological and Biomedical Sciences, and 39 out of 764 in Best Value for Psychology. You can view all of their rankings here: http://www.collegefactual.com/
"We publish a variety of college rankings to get students and parents focused on key factors they need to consider when choosing a school,' says Bill Phelan, CEO of College Factual. "How long it will it take you to graduate? 4 or 6 years? What will your expected earnings be, and how does that compare? What's the risk of student loan default? These are tough questions any prospective student should be asking and we highlight these factors throughout our ranking process."
With a focus on providing sought-after data and unique decision-making tools, College Factual puts the college rankings process in the hands of students and parents and not those of institutions or national publications.
College Factual's ranking system is based on a series of algorithms that include information from the Department of Education, nationally mandated data reporting for institutions and Payscale.
For more information about College Factual's rankings, visit www.collegefactual.com or contact media@collegefactual.com.
