Contact: Joe Farris
Mississippi State is among the nation's "100 best buys" in public colleges and universities, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.
The October issue lists 100 public four-year colleges and universities offering "a quality education without the Ivy League price tag." Mississippi State is 57th on the list.
With more than 1.15 million subscribers, Kiplinger's consistently is among the nation's 100 best-selling magazines. It specializes in consumer and financial advice and information.
In its "best buy" survey, schools are ranked on the basis of quality indicators, including graduation rates, number of instructional faculty members, cost considerations, and available financial aid.
Based on the magazine's calculations, the total cost for an in-state student to attend MSU is $7,952 a year. The average cost after need-based financial aid is taken into account comes to $4,246 a year, Kiplinger's says.
The magazine's editors say their goal is to identify schools offering a high-quality education at the lowest cost. Kiplinger's formula for determining rankings puts more emphasis on quality than on cost "because 'value' is not synonymous with 'cheap,'" they add.
Other Southeastern institutions among the top 100 include the universities of North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and Auburn.
Complete rankings and other information about planning for college also are available online at http://kiplinger.com/managing/college.