Among 256 colleges and universities in the Southeast that deliver the “Best Bang for the Buck,” Catawba College ranks 84th, according to the 2016 Washington Monthly College Guide. This publication’s methodology claims to determine which of the nation’s colleges are “doing the best job of helping non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.”
Contrasting itself to the U.S. News college rankings, Washington Monthly’s guide “measures schools based on what they are doing for the country – by improving social mobility, producing research, and promoting public service.”
Washington Monthly contends that the release of a new data set last fall by the Obama administration, the “College Scorecard,” shows how much students earn 10 years after enrolling at a given college and whether they’re paying down at least some of the loan principal they incurred to pay for their college education. The “College Scorecard” also indicates the percent of first-generation students each college enrolls as “a key measure of its commitment to opportunity.”
Washington Monthly’s 2016 Best Bang for the Buck rankings are broken down according to five geographic regions, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, South and West.
View a complete list of the institutions included on the 2016 Best Bang for the Buck rankings.
