What does Decatur mean to Agnes Scott?  (What Agnes Scott means to Decatur is a separate post!)

Here’s one very influential indicator (courtesy of an ASC press release)…

For the second year in a row, the college was No. 10 on Princeton Review’s “Best Quality of Life” ranking. The college also was once again included in the guide’s Best 376 Colleges list.

According to The Princeton Review’s student surveys, Agnes Scott boasts a “great location, gorgeous campus and superb academics.”

Great location?  Thanks Decatur!  And then there’s this other ranking…

No. 12 – Town and gown relations are great (ASC’s fourth consecutive year in the top 10)

Some may scoff at Princeton Reviews rankings, but I recall relying on them quite heavily when I was picking a school to give me a starting point for judging the intangibles of college life.

#10 in Quality of Life?  Impressive!

From Agnes Scott’s Megan Terraso…

Agnes Scott College has been ranked one of The Best 373 Colleges for 2011 by The Princeton Review, publisher of college guidebooks and provider of other education services.

Agnes Scott’s other rankings included:

• No. 3 – Easiest Campus to Get Around (ASC’s second consecutive year in Top 10)
• No. 8 – Town Gown Relations Are Great (ASC’s third consecutive year in Top 10)
• No. 10 – Best Quality of Life
• No. 19 – Don’t Inhale
• No. 20 – Stone Cold Sober (ASC traditionally places Top 20 in this category)

I’m not sure how people generally feel about the Princeton Review guides, but back in the day, they became my go-to book to decide which campuses to tour and which to skip.

I recently used a slight increase in Agnes Scott’s tuition to vent my frustration on the general cost of college tuition throughout the country.  At the time I implicitly stated that my rant had nothing to do about Agnes Scott specifically, however due to the way the post was titled, I think I sent them a little more flack than originally intended.

So today, let’s note that they deserve a good deal of credit for their comparatively low tuition costs!  According to Princeton Review, Agnes Scott is one of the 50 “Best Value Private Colleges for 2009“.  Here’s part of the blurb that talks about value…

Despite the widespread rise in the cost of higher education, Agnes Scott has managed to keep its tuition low. More importantly, the school is committed to finding every way possible to provide both need-based and merit-based financial support to its students. Over 50 percent of students receive hefty financial aid packages, and if you need an extra year of school, it’s on the house (provided you’ve fulfilled your degree requirements and have a specific goal for another year of study). That’s right-the fifth year’s tuition is free.

Sounds like Agnes Scott does quite a bit to keep costs relatively low for its students.  That should definitely be commended!

Congrats should also be extended to Emory, which also made the list.  But since I didn’t inadvertently rail against them recently, they just get a simple mention.   Check the full list here.

h/t: AJC

UPDATE:  Kiplingers rated Emory 9th in value among private colleges, according to an Emory press release.  Apparently its “value ranking” season!