Claremont, Calif. (January 28, 2014) — The Princeton Review has listed Pitzer College as a “best value” among the nation’s top undergraduate schools in its 2014 edition of The Best Value Colleges. Pitzer is ranked among the country’s top 75 private colleges.
Based on surveys of 2,000 colleges and universities, The Princeton Review designates 75 public and 75 private colleges as “Best Values” in its 2014 publication The Best Value Colleges: The 150 Best-Buy Colleges and What It Takes to Get In. The education services company analyzed school-reported information across more than 30 data points covering academics, cost and financial aid in 2012-13. The company also factored in data collected over the past three academic years from student surveys.
In its profile of Pitzer, The Princeton Review says the College marries “the best advantages of a vibrant, prestigious liberal arts school with a ‘focus on social responsibility’ and ‘a challenging academic environment.'” It quotes students who praise “the closeness between faculty and students” at Pitzer. One undergraduate called Pitzer “a challenging school that allows students to become effective leaders (in) a very diverse and open community.”
“We commend Pitzer and all of our ‘Best Value Colleges’ for their outstanding academics,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior vice president/publisher. “Equally impressive are their efforts to be affordable to students with need—either via comparatively low sticker prices, generous financial aid or both.”
Pitzer College is committed to meeting 100 percent of every admitted student’s demonstrated need through a financial aid package that includes grants, work-study jobs and loans. The average need-based financial aid scholarship is more than $35,000 for full-time students. The College has made financial aid a primary commitment in its fundraising efforts. To date, Pitzer has successfully decreased the average indebtedness after four years of study to $18,000 and increased its institutional aid by 189 percent since 2002.
Pitzer has previously been named one of the best values among private liberal arts colleges by Kiplinger and U.S.News & World Report has ranked the College as one of the top 10 schools for the average amount of need-based aid it awards.
The Princeton Review is a privately held education services company specializing in test preparation services, tutoring and admissions resources, online courses, and more than 150 print and digital books. The company also partners with schools and guidance counselors worldwide to provide students with college readiness, test preparation and career planning services.
