Clemson University has been recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best institutions to offer students the greatest return on educational investment.
Out of more than 650 public and private colleges and universities evaluated for this year’s Best Value Colleges list, only 200 received the designation and only 25 percent of those named were public.
The rankings are based on analyses of more than 40 data points that include academic offerings, cost/financial aid, career placement services, graduation rates and student debt as well as alumni salary levels and job satisfaction.
“These exceptional schools differ in many ways, yet they are alike in that all offer outstanding academics and excellent career services,” said Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review. “These colleges have a comparatively low sticker price and/or generous financial aid offerings. We recommend and commend them highly for everything their administrators, faculties, staff and alumni are doing to educate their students and to guide them to post-college success.”
The publication also ranked Clemson among the best in three other categories:
- No. 3 among the “Top 20 Public Best Schools for Internships,” based on students’ ratings of accessibility to internship placement at Clemson;
- No. 10 among the “Top 20 Public Schools Best Alumni Networks,” from students’ ratings of alumni activity and visibility on campus; and
- No. 16 among the “Top 20 Public Best Schools for Making an Impact,” based on student ratings and responses to survey questions covering community service, student government, sustainability efforts and on-campus student engagement.
For this project, The Princeton Review analyzed data from its surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges in 2019–20 as well as its surveys of students attending the schools. The company also factored in data from PayScale.com surveys of alumni of the schools about their starting and mid-career salaries as well as their job satisfaction.