Nov 04, 2009 - Claremont, Calif. -

For the second time this year, Harvey Mudd College (HMC) has been named one of the nation's best values.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, ranked HMC #24 on its list of "100 Best Values in Private Colleges” that combine outstanding economic value with exceptional education. The magazine ranked colleges according to academic quality and affordability, with quality accounting for two-thirds of the total. Colleges were selected from a pool of more than 600 private institutions provided by Peterson’s.

Earlier this year, HMC was named one of the nation's 50 "Best Value" private colleges and universities by The Princeton Review, one of America's most widely-known education services companies. The “Best Value” colleges list, reported in the January 8 print edition of USA TODAY, and on the Princeton Review website, features a total of 100 schools in all: 50 public and 50 private colleges and universities. 

Financial resources continue to be tight for both parents and colleges in the troubled economy, but many students who applied to college for the 2009–10 academic year actually received more financial help than the previous year’s applicants. HMC remains committed to making sure that its education is accessible to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

“We continue to meet 100 percent of a student’s demonstrated financial need, and we do all that we can to be responsive to our families’ changing financial situations,” said Thyra Briggs, vice president for admission and financial aid. “When a student enrolls at Harvey Mudd, we enter into a four-year partnership with the family to finance the student’s education.

“In building a student’s financial aid package, we are mindful of asking our students to only borrow the bare minimum of loans,” Briggs said. “This policy in conjunction with the high average starting salary of our graduates means that loan repayment is rarely an issue for our alumni."

“This year’s top 100 private schools met the challenges of a slumping economy with brio,” says Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s. “With so many private institutions offering generous financial aid packages, families are finding that private college is still affordable. In fact, the average tuition price can be as little as half or less of the sticker price—making them very competitive with public universities.”

The annual private school rankings appear in Kiplinger’s December 2009 issue—on newsstands November 10—and online—along with sortable rankings and methodology.

The Kiplinger 100 rankings are:

Liberal Arts Colleges (1-50)