SmartAsset: Brown again has best value

SMARTASSET SAID Brown University has the best value among the colleges and universities in Rhode Island. / COURTESY SMARTASSET
SMARTASSET SAID Brown University has the best value among the colleges and universities in Rhode Island. / COURTESY SMARTASSET

PROVIDENCE – Brown University has the best value in Rhode Island, according to SmartAsset, a financial technology company.
This is the second year in a row that SmartAsset said Brown has the best value among the nine colleges and universities in the Ocean State.
Ivy League Brown was singled out for its performance in categories that included scholarships provided, average starting salary, tuition, student living costs and retention rate.
The average starting salary for Brown, at $57,100, is higher than the eight other schools on the list, but it also has the most expensive tuition at $45,612 annually. Brown also offers the largest amount of scholarships and grants at $35,235, and its student retention rate is highest at 98 percent, putting its college education value index at 68.5 out of 100 – the best in the state.
Coming in second was the University of Rhode Island, with a score of 54.01 on the index. URI’s graduates have an average starting salary of $48,700, and in-state tuition there averages $12,450 annually. The student retention rate at URI is 82 percent and average scholarships and grants total nearly $10,000 on average.
“Earning a college degree can increase your skill set, job prospects and net worth. But with rising college costs, where you choose to get that degree from can make a big difference,” SmartAsset said.
The remaining Rhode Island colleges and universities ranked as follows, according to value:

  • Providence College, third
  • Bryant University, fourth
  • Rhode Island College, fifth
  • Salve Regina University, sixth
  • Rhode Island School of Design, seventh
  • Roger Williams University, eighth
  • Johnson & Wales University, ninth

New England Institute of Technology and the Community College of Rhode Island were not included on the best value list because information was lacking in one or more of the five determining categories.
Data for NEIT on student retention rate was not available, nor was student living costs (NEIT’s first residence hall is expected to be ready next year). CCRI also lacks dorms, and information on starting salary was unavailable.
However, New England Institute of Technology was included on the starting salary list, coming in fifth for $48,600.

CCRI only was included on the college tuition ranking, where it ranked first for annual tuition of $3,950. RIC was second for $7,602 annual tuition.

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