Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

USM Schools Named “Best Values in Public Colleges” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Adelphi, Md. (Jan. 6, 2012) -- Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has named several University System of Maryland (USM) institutions to its list of "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" for 2012. The magazine notes that the campuses it selects "are noteworthy for their combination of top-flight academics and affordable costs."

The USM schools honored are the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), Salisbury University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Towson University.

UMCP ranked 8^th among four-year institutions for in-state students, drawing praise for providing outstanding education at an affordable price for in-state students. UMCP's ranking reflects a steady climb in Kiplinger's evaluation, an improvement from 28^th in 2008.

"This land-grant university located in the Washington, D.C., suburbs attracts top students from Maryland and across the country. Incoming freshmen have an average grade point average of about 4.0, and more than one-third of incoming freshmen score 700 or higher on their math SATs," Kiplinger's writes.

Salisbury University attained a 71^st ranking for in-state students, making the "100 Best Values" list for the fourth straight year.

Towson University and UMBC attained rankings of 76^th and 84^th, respectively, for in-state students. UMBC's out-of-state "best values" ranking was 63^rd.

Kiplinger's determines its rankings with a combination of measures, including student-faculty ratios, student debt levels after graduation, and retention and graduation rates.

The Kiplinger's report can be accessed at http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/.

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu