Colleges and universities in Maryland and Virginia rank among the best values for students in the nation.
The rankings come from financial technology company SmartAsset. SmartAsset looked at five factors to determine the best value colleges and universities including tuition, student living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, student retention rate and starting salary for new graduates.
University of Maryland, College Park, is listed as the best value for higher-education in Maryland and number 41 nationally based on a $10,000 average for scholarships, a $62,900 average for starting salaries for new graduates and a 95% retention rate.
The University of Virginia in Charlottesville takes the top spot in Virginia and ranks 12th nationally. This is based on a $46,952 average for scholarships, an $88,300 starting salary for new grads and a 99% retention rate.
Rounding out the top five in Maryland are Johns Hopkins, UMBC, Towson and Frostburg. See the rest of the Maryland rankings on the SmartAsset website.
In Virginia finishing the top five are the Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech and State University, Washington and Lee University and University of Richmond. See the remainder of the Virginia rankings on the SmartAsset website.
The top five best value colleges nationally are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvey Mudd University and the Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus.
