University News

Princeton Review: UVA No. 1 Public School for Financial Aid

June 25, 2024 • By Jane Kelly, jak4g@virginia.edu Jane Kelly, jak4g@virginia.edu

Thomas Jefferson Statue, The Rotunda, University of Virginia, Charlottesville,

(University Communications photo)

For the fourth consecutive year, the Princeton Review has ranked the University of Virginia the No. 1 public school for financial aid.

In its Best Value Colleges for 2024 rankings, the educational services company recognized UVA as the No. 3 best value public university and the No. 4 public school when it comes to career placement. The review also named the University the No. 4 best value college for students who do not qualify for financial aid.

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Public School for Financial Aid Four Years in a Row

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Best-Value Public University in the Country

The University ranked top for best health services, based on student ratings. Current student ratings of alumni activities and visibility on campus also placed UVA in the top 10 for alumni networks in public universities.

The rankings come after Forbes recently named UVA one of 10 public school “New Ivies,” institutions approaching the quality and prestige of an Ivy League institution.

In all, the Princeton Review placed 209 schools on its 2024 list based on data from surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges in 2023-24. The surveys included questions about academics, cost, financial aid, student debt and graduation rates.

The company also factored in data from its student surveys and information from PayScale.com’s surveys of alumni about their starting and mid-career salaries and job satisfaction.

Free Tuition for Virginia Households making <$100K To Be Great and Good, In All We Do

“UVA continues to deliver an outstanding return on investment for students and families from the commonwealth and beyond,” UVA President Jim Ryan said. “I’m grateful to all those across the University who make UVA a great place to live, learn and earn a degree, and we will continue to work to make UVA accessible for talented and passionate students.”

“The schools we chose as our Best Value Colleges for 2024 are a select group: they comprise only about 8% of the nation’s four-year undergraduate institutions,” Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, wrote. “We commend their administrators, faculties, staff and alumni for all they are doing to educate their students and guide them to success in their careers. These colleges are also exceptional for the generous amount of financial aid they award to students with need and/or for their comparatively low cost of attendance.”