UT consistently delivers an affordable, high quality education and offers plenty of opportunities to engage its students, according to the Princeton Review’s 2013 Best Value survey.
UT was ranked today among the top seventy-five public colleges and universities in the Princeton Review‘s “Best Value Colleges for 2013” edition. The ranking compares thirty data points of public and private schools that include cost, financial aid, and other student and academic metrics. The top colleges and universities were selected from more than 650 institutions.
Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said it is rewarding to have the university recognized for the value it offers to its students, their parents, and the citizens of Tennessee.
“Many of our goals in our Top 25 journey relate to academic quality and the overall student experience,” Cheek said. “We’re focused on supporting our students so that they graduate in four years and minimize their overall costs.”
For the second year in a row, UT’s diversity and welcoming environment were recognized in the rankings. The publication’s survey of UT students included feedback that at UT “there’s a great sense of unity,” a “welcoming campus environment,” and faculty who “try extremely hard to encourage acceptance of several kinds of diversity.”
The university “provides a family-like atmosphere full of opportunity and support,” combining “the best of both worlds: great education at a great price, sports, social life, and a ton of extracurriculars to choose from,” according to the students.
Almost all entering Tennessee freshmen at UT qualify for a Hope Scholarship, and they continue to receive the funds as long as they attend classes full time and maintain required grade point averages. Hope Scholarship funds cover close to half of an in-state student’s tuition and fees.
A wide variety of need-based and merit scholarships help cover the rest of a student’s expenses. The Pledge Scholarship is available to students whose family’s annual gross income is $40,000 or less. The Promise Scholarship is available to students in Tennessee high schools who historically have been under-represented on the Knoxville campus.
The Princeton Review is an educational services company known for its test-prep courses, university admission services, and its annual college, business, and law school rankings.
The “Best Value Colleges for 2013” rankings are available on the USA Today website.
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C O N T A C T :
Charles Primm (865-974-5180, primmc@utk.edu)