Grove City College’s “superior return on investment” earned it a place on Forbes’ just-released 2017 list of the country’s best colleges and universities.
The financial magazine and website evaluated 650 top schools to determine which ones deliver “what Forbes values most: superior return on investment; high impact, leadership and success; and a first-rate student-consumer experience.”
“Our goal is to showcase the colleges and universities that deliver the best return on your education investment dollars,” wrote Caroline Howard of Forbes.
Grove City College is ranked 224 on Forbes’ list of “America’s Top Colleges,” moving up 26 spots from last year’s list. It is also ranked 87 nationwide among liberal arts schools, 97 in the Northeast and 161 on the list of private colleges.
Forbes looks to “output over input” and favors variables like alumni salaries, graduation rates and student satisfaction. The methodology also values entrepreneurship, success and the consumer experience.
“We are delighted to be included once again on this list. Forbes recognizes exactly what we are seeking to achieve: To be a college that is entirely worthy of a family’s investment,” College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said.
Now in its tenth year of ranking colleges and universities, Forbes noted that it adjusted its methodology for 2017, which improved the position of research universities and service academies and generally hurt traditional liberal arts colleges. For this reason, Grove City College’s rise over last year is even more noteworthy.
Post graduate success is most heavily weighted in the rankings. With a 97-percent job or graduate school placement rate and starting and midcareer salaries that exceed the national average, Grove City College graduates realize a $453,000 return on investment over 20 years, according to PayScale.com, which ranks the College a “Best Value.”
That investment is also far more affordable than most private liberal arts colleges included in Forbes’ rankings. The average annual cost of attending a private college is $45,370, Forbes reports. Grove City College’s annual bill for tuition and room and board comes in at $28,504.
Regionally, Grove City College stands out as one of just eight colleges and universities in the Pittsburgh area to be included in the Forbes listing. Only Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh ranked higher in western Pennsylvania.
View the complete Forbes “America’s Top Colleges” list and Grove City College’s listing.