Jan 09, 2009 - Claremont, Calif. - Harvey Mudd College has been named one of the nation's 50 "Best Value" private colleges and universities, according to 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.  

In its profile of HMC on USA TODAY’s website, the editors at The Princeton Review said, “A lot is expected of students here, and students seem to appreciate that. From the honor code (which is taken very seriously and allows students 24-hour access to nearly every building on campus) to the challenging academics and research opportunities, students take responsibility for their success, all while under the watch of some seriously talented faculty (the student-faculty ratio here is 8:1).”                              

The Princeton Review selected the institutions as its "best value" choices for 2009 based on its surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 public and private colleges and universities. The selection criteria covered more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs of attendance, and financial aid; lists were made using the most recently reported data from each institution for its 2007-08 academic year. Of the 50 schools chosen in each "best value" category (public and private), the top 10 are ranked 1 to 10, and the remaining 40 are listed in alphabetical order and unranked.

Visitors to The Princeton Review and USA TODAY websites can access the complete lists of 50 public and 50 private “Best Value” colleges. USA TODAY’s site features a database that allows users to view in-depth details about the schools by clicking on an interactive map to explore criteria, including cost of attendance and financial aid data, enrollment size, location and The Princeton Review’s analysis of why each school was chosen as a “Best Value” college.

The Princeton Review previously reported annual "Best Value" public and private colleges lists (and top 10 ranking schools in each category) on its website and in its book, America's Best Value Colleges, which was published from 2004 to 2007. The Princeton Review is a New York City-based education services company known for its test-prep courses, college and graduate school admission services, books and education programs. It is not affiliated with Princeton University or ETS.