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| The Basics | The 100 best values in public colleges
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Making the grade
How can UNC afford to boost its aid while so many schools are cutting theirs? For one thing, legislators in North Carolina spared need-based aid when they were tightening the state's budget during the past few years. In addition, says UNC chancellor James Moeser, "We're fortunate to be the No. 1 university in sales of licensed products, such as T-shirts and baseball caps." Traditionally, 75% of trademark-licensing revenue, which totals about $3.5 million a year, has gone toward financial aid. In 2005, UNC shifted the remainder of licensing revenue from the athletic department to create 59 new merit scholarships of $2,500 each.
That has helped Chapel Hill attract one of the highest-caliber student bodies of any public college. Among students in the freshman class of 2004-2005, 78% scored 600 or higher on the math component of the SAT exam, and 73% scored 600 or above on the verbal section. About 25% of students scored 700 or higher on the verbal or math exams.
For Christian Mibelli, a charismatic 19-year-old freshman who graduated in the top of his class in Weddington, N.C., a merit scholarship of $7,500 per year made a big difference in choosing UNC over Duke, Wake Forest and Davidson. Even with a scholarship, Duke was still a lot more expensive than UNC, and Mibelli was impressed with Chapel Hill: "Being at a school where everyone worked extremely hard to get in and wants to be here is an amazing experience."
Mibelli, who's interested in medicine and public policy, participates in student government, takes classes to become an emergency medical technician and volunteers at the university's N.C. Children's Hospital. "There are so many possibilities," he says.
Most students agree. At UNC, 95% of them return after their freshman year, compared with a retention rate of 80% to 90% for most schools. It's a place where school spirit isn't uncool -- especially when you're the reigning NCAA basketball champions.
Related news on MSN and Kiplingers
Like many large universities near the top of our list, UNC is getting a lot more money from private donations. The Carolina First campaign raised more than $1.6 billion from July 1999 to December 2005 for faculty, research, scholarships and facilities. UCLA and the universities of Michigan, Virginia and Washington are in the midst of their own billion-dollar private fund-raising drives. And some of the smaller public colleges "are getting into that business," says Travis Reindl, of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Small and selective
Most of the schools that head our rankings are state powerhouses with 15,000 students or more. But a few small public colleges also stand out. One of this year's stars is the State University of New York at Geneseo, which jumped from 32nd place in 2003 to seventh place for in-state students, for whom tuition and fees are a bargain $5,520.
Geneseo also tops the list as the best deal for out-of-state residents, who pay $11,780 in tuition and fees ($19,970 when you add in room, board and books). That's less than half the nonresident tuition at some other public colleges, and it's one-third of what you'd pay at some private schools.
With just 5,375 students and a picturesque campus in the Genesee Valley, about 30 miles outside of Rochester, N.Y., Geneseo competes against small, private liberal-arts colleges in the Northeast. It recruits top students -- 80% of incoming freshmen have SAT scores of 600 or higher on the math exam, and 77% score 600 or better on the verbal exam.
Geneseo focuses primarily on undergraduates, offering small classes and top-notch professors. No classes are taught by teaching assistants, and very few by part-time instructors.
The accessible faculty appealed to Mallory Howe, 20, a sophomore majoring in biology and studio arts. She chose Geneseo over private liberal-arts colleges such as Bucknell and Carleton.
Although cost wasn't an issue for Howe, Geneseo's low price tag was a bonus. "It was a surprise to find out that it's a great school and I don't have to worry so much about money," says Howe, who lives in Penfield, N.Y. Matthew Kowalik, an 18-year-old freshman from Pembroke, N.H., was looking for a school in the Northeast that offered an undergraduate degree in biophysics. The valedictorian of his 275-member high school class, Kowalik fell in love with Geneseo, which reminded him of his small-town home in New Hampshire.
Kowalik received a $2,000 scholarship, which makes Geneseo's price tag about the same as he'd pay at the University of New Hampshire, which is much bigger and doesn't have the program he wanted. He was also offered a scholarship from the University of Rochester, but Geneseo's tuition was about one-third as much. "I'm thankful I was able to find this school," says Kowalik. "It's one of the most competitive." And the money he's saving will help pay for grad school.
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