Michigan State ranks as one of the best value colleges in America
Does this mean our tuition is actually worth it?
Money magazine releases an annual report about the top colleges for your money, combining 27 data points, focusing mainly on quality of education, affordability, and alumni success. They ranked Michigan State at number 30 out of a total 711 schools ranked.
And that number is a jump considering the university placed 54 in the 2016 ranking, and 109 in 2015. With the 2017 ranking of 30, MSU is in the top 1.5 percent out of the 2,400 colleges even considered for ranking.
The University placed higher than Rutgers, Wisconsin, Ohio State University, and all but three other Big 10 universities. MSU also placed higher than some private universities, because frankly, their alumni aren’t able to thrive in the job market.
The University may accept well over 60 percent of all applicants that apply, but it made the top 50 because of a crucial statistic: graduation rates. MSU has a graduation rate of 77 percent, which is 15 percent higher than Money predicted off of MSU students’ background and test scores.
Other factors that contributed to MSU’s placement is the large number of international students, expansive study abroad programs, being a nationally known research university, and having over 600 student organizations.
The University aims to keep raising the graduation rate, hoping to reach 82 percent by 2020. And, most likely, they’ll keep climbing up Money’s rankings.