Centre ranked No. 1 value among U.S. liberal arts colleges by Consumers Digest

RELEASED: May 3, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—Consumers Digest has named Centre College the No. 1 value in the nation among private liberal arts colleges. Others in the top 10 include Grinnell, Davidson and Colorado College. Institutions among the top 20 include Bucknell, Williams and Amherst. The rankings, which appear in the June issue (on newsstands now), are based on the students' academic excellence and the quality of the education received compared to the annual cost of tuition and room and board.

To determine educational value, the magazine evaluated academic excellence (standardized test scores, high school rank and the grade point average of entering freshmen, and the school's acceptance rate) along with the quality of education offered (student-to-faculty ratio, graduation rate and percentage of faculty holding a Ph.D. or other terminal degree). This analysis of academic strength was then compared to costs of attending each college for the 2005-06 academic year (tuition and average room and board) to arrive at value.

"We're pleased and honored to be recognized as the top value in the country by this national publication," says Centre president John A. Roush. "Centre's capacity to remain a place of both high achievement and high opportunity, in addition to being nationally recognized for our low debt-load, is a tribute to the generosity of our friends and alumni, who provide us with unparalleled support."

The No. 1 ranking reflects Centre's long-standing commitment to personal education, which students experience through one-on-one relationships with top-notch professors (98 percent of Centre faculty hold the Ph.D. or other final degree). It also reflects the quality of the College's entering students and its high graduation rate.

Consumers Digest, launched in 1959, is committed to providing practical advice, factual evaluations and specific recommendations that lead consumers to outstanding values in today's complex marketplace.

Centre is the only Kentucky institution to appear in the Consumers Digest top 25 best liberal arts values list. In 2004, the College was ranked No. 10 by Consumers Digest in the "Top 25 Best Values for Private Colleges and Universities" category.

Centre recently was ranked by Kiplinger magazine as a top-30 best value among national liberal arts colleges and was the only Kentucky institution to make the list. Centre is also one of the nation's best value undergraduate institutions, according to The Princeton Review's America's Best Value Colleges. Centre is ranked among the U.S. News and World Report top 50 national liberal arts colleges, the highest national ranking of any Kentucky institution.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.