DePauw among USAs 'Best Value' according to Kiplinger

DePauw University is among the nation's top 50 liberal arts colleges that combine "outstanding economic value with top-notch education," according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

The magazine's just-released 2009 "best values" list places DePauw 38th among the nation's liberal arts colleges. The list highlights colleges that provide exceptional education at outstanding economic value, emphasizing academic quality while remaining affordable.

DePauw, which improved 11 places from the 2007-08 reports, is the only Indiana liberal arts college to make the list. Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., tops the 2009 rankings, which appear in the magazine's February issue and Online.

"Families hit by the economic downturn may feel that private institutions are out of their financial reach," says Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger's. "But they will be surprised by our findings."

The magazine used data to analyze more than 600 private institutions, weighing each college's academic quality by examining the student-to-faculty ratio, test scores of incoming freshmen, graduation rates, admission rates and retention rates for freshmen. The magazine then determined each school's affordability by weighing the cost of attendance before and after financial aid is taken into account.

Consistently recognized as one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges, DePauw University has graduated some of America's most prominent business, political and community leaders. Its student body of approximately 2,300 undergraduates comes from 42 states and 32 countries. A faculty of 238, ensuring small class sizes which average 16 students (many are smaller) providing optimal opportunities for discussion, participation and one-on-one interactions.

The 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement puts DePauw freshmen and seniors in the top 10 percent of all colleges and universities for the level of academic challenge they experience. The study also ranks DePauw seniors in the top 10 percent of all participating institutions nationwide for enjoying enriching educational experiences.

DePauw University ranks among the top 10 baccalaureate institutions in the nation for the total number of students who studied abroad in 2006-07, according to the 2008 Open Doors report. It is also among the "Top Producers of Fulbright Awards for U.S. Students, 2008-09" according to a chart published in the Oct. 24, 2008 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education.