PROVIDENCE – Brown University is the Best Value College in Rhode Island, according to SmartAsset’s annual report released Thursday.
Researchers determined the best value colleges in the U.S. across five categories: tuition, student living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, student retention rate, and starting salary for new graduates.
Of the 10 Rhode Island colleges and universities ranked in the 2022 findings, Brown had the highest average scholarships and grants, $47,590, average starting salary, $74,700, and highest student retention rate, 98%.
The state’s sole Ivy League school also had the highest cost of the bunch, with a $55,466 tuition charge. Rhode Island College’s $8,929 cost is the lowest in the state, according to the report.
The remainder of the ranking – which was based on tuition, living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, retention rate and average starting salary – is as follows:
2. University of Rhode Island
3. Providence College
4. Bryant University
5. Rhode Island College
6. Salve Regina University
7. Rhode Island School of Design
8. Roger Williams University
9. Johnson & Wales University Providence
10. New England Institute of Technology
Roger Williams ranked the highest in student-living costs at $20,120, while Rhode Island College was the lowest at $14,469. Rhode Island College awarded the least in scholarships, at 5,674.
Graduates from Johnson & Wales University had the lowest average starting salary, $51,000, and the lowest retention rate at 70%.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., ranked tops in the nation with $50,864 in average scholarship and grants awarded, an average starting salary of $93,700 and a 98% student retention rate, at a cost of $51,832 in tuition and $18,408 in student-living expenses.
The full report can be found here.
