UWSP highly rated by second publication

For the second time this month, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been named to a list of top campuses in the country by a national publication.

The September issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine has listed UWSP as number 77 among the 100 best state universities in the nation. Last week U.S. News and World Report named UWSP fourth in its first tier of Midwestern universities.

Kiplinger bases its rankings on SAT scores, graduation rates, percentage of freshmen who return for their sophomore year, admission rates and computer and library resources, plus five financial factors.

Chancellor Tom George says he is especially pleased with how well UWSP fared in the rankings because 85 of the 100 campuses listed are research-oriented campuses with significant graduate programs.

In naming the top 100, Kiplinger’s editors said, "For every student at a top-dollar university—where expenses run $33,000 a year—there are ten who attend four-year schools where annual expenses, without factoring in financial aid, still don’t exceed $10,000. And they’re not sacrificing the quality of their education for the sake of saving money, either. . . . We’ve turned the spotlight on the 600 or so public four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. in search of best buys—schools where students can graduate with a high-caliber education but without a mortgage-size debt."

At UWSP this year’s undergraduate in-state tuition is $2,928.90. Add room and board costs of $3,292 and the cost of attending UWSP for one year becomes about $6,200.

Kiplinger’s rankings also include Madison, Eau Claire and La Crosse.

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