Towson University earns ‘best value’ kudos from Money magazine

By Jan Lucas on August 16, 2018

Towson University is an even better value this year.

So says Money magazine, which ranks TU 147th on its 2018–2019 Best Colleges for Your Money list, up from 150th in 2017. Money’s list enables students to find their fit with rankings that combine educational quality, affordability, and alumni success.

TU outperformed 80 percent of the 727 U.S. colleges ranked.

Towson University; University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University were the highest-ranking Maryland institutions on the list, ahead of 10 other colleges and universities.

“I am proud to see Towson University recognized as among the top three best investments in higher education in the state of Maryland,” said President Schatzel. “Our rise in this annual ranking reflects a continued emphasis on providing an affordable, world-class education that drives lifelong success for alumni.”

Money analyzed graduation rates, tuition charges, family borrowing and alumni earnings (plus 22 other data points) to find the country’s top values.

The magazine evaluated approximately 3,000 four-year colleges using the following criteria: at least 500 students; sufficient, reliable data to be analyzed; not be in financial distress; and have a graduation rate that was at or above the median for its institutional category (public or private), or have a high “value-added” graduation rate (in other words: score in the top 25 percent of our test of graduation rates after accounting for the average test scores and percentage of low-income students among its enrollees).

With that list reduced to 727 colleges, Money’s experts ranked colleges on 26 factors in three categories: quality of education (1/3 of weighting), affordability (1/3 of weighting), and outcomes (1/3 of weighting).

Money’s Best Colleges for Your Money rankings are the first to combine the most accurate pricing estimates available with all reliable indicators of alumni financial success, along with a unique analysis of how much “value” a college adds when compared to other schools that take in similar students.

This week’s ranking follows Princeton Review’s announcement that TU is one of 225 colleges and universities selected for its Best Northeastern category.

Learn more about how Towson University is ranked by publications and websites.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel's priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.