Princeton Review recognizes Clemson University as a best value

Published: February 7, 2012

CLEMSON — Clemson University is one of the nation’s 75 best values in public colleges and universities, according to the “The Princeton Review Best Value Colleges for 2012,” announced Tuesday by The Princeton Review and USA TODAY.

Chuck Knepfle, Clemson’s financial aid director, was pleased, but not surprised.

“While hardly a surprise, it is fitting to see Clemson recognized as one of the best values in higher education,” said Knepfle. “In addition to the generous state scholarships available to South Carolina residents, the amount of scholarship dollars available to incoming students has increased significantly over time. We will increase gift aid to our fall enrollees by well over $3 million.”
 
The additional $3 million in scholarship aid results from the current Clemson University The Will to Lead Capital Campaign, in which more than 300 scholarships and fellowships have been established.

Current average in-state tuition and fees at Clemson are $12,304 and out-of-state are $28,462.

In its profile of Clemson on USA TODAY’s Web site, The Princeton Review editors stated that students “are especially bullish on the scholarships the university offers.” They quote a student as saying, "The value is unbeatable.”

Students also “have high opinions of the Clemson faculty,” according to the profile. Another student is quoted as saying, "I feel like my academic experience is extremely dynamic, and I truly enjoy going to class." More than half of the classes at Clemson have fewer than 20 students, so professors get to know their students and explore innovative ways of teaching.

In a section titled “Bang for your Buck,” editors reference the opportunities Clemson provides for students to apply classroom learning to real-life situations “while making invaluable contacts in the field they have chosen to pursue. Subsequently this makes them strong contenders in today’s job market.”

The list features 150 schools — 75 public and 75 private colleges and universities. Of the 75 schools in each category, the top 10 are ranked and the remaining 65 are listed in alphabetical order and unranked.

The Princeton Review selected the institutions as its "best value" choices for 2012 after analyzing data collected from an initial list of 650 institutions it identified as having excellent academics.

More than 30 data points were assessed across three primary areas: academics, the cost of attendance and financial aid. Cost and financial aid data came from the company's fall 2011 surveys of school administrators. Data on academics came from its fall 2010 through fall 2011 surveys of school administrators. The Princeton Review also factored in data from surveys of students attending the schools who shared assessments of their professors and their satisfaction with their financial aid awards.

"We recommend these extraordinary colleges as our 'best buys' for 2012 and salute them for all they are doing to keep costs down and/or offer generous aid to applicants with financial need," said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's senior vice president, publisher and lead author of its "Best Value Colleges" book.

"We appreciate the deep concerns families have about affording college: among the 12,000 teen and parent respondents to our 2011 'College Hopes & Worries Survey,' 86 percent reported financial aid would be 'very necessary' for them to pay for college," he said.

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