Kiplinger has named Princeton University as first in private universities and second overall in its 2016’s Top 300 Best College Values. Introduced in 1998, the rankings combine public schools, private universities, and private liberal arts colleges into a single, comprehensive list.

Washington and Lee University took the number 1 spot on the overall list, followed by Princeton and Harvard. Princeton took first place for private universities. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was ranked best public college for the 15th consecutive time. Davidson College earned second place, after Washington and Lee, for best liberal arts college.
The full rankings are now available online at Kiplinger.com/links/college and will appear in print in the February 2016 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, on newsstands January 5. “We start with a universe of 1,200 schools, so each school in our rankings, from number 1 to number 300, is a best value,” said Janet Bodnar, Editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

At Kiplinger.com, visitors have access to the “Find the Best College for You” tool and other tools that let readers sort by admission rate, average debt at graduation, and other criteria for all schools, plus in-state and out-of-state cost for public universities. Also online: slide shows of the top ten schools in different categories, archives of past years’ rankings and an FAQ section on the ranking methodology.

Kiplinger assesses value by measurable standards of academic quality and affordability. Quality measures include the admission rate, the percentage of students who return for sophomore year, the student-faculty ratio, and four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include sticker price, financial aid, and average debt at graduation.