On a list of 300 public and private colleges and universities in the United States based on quality and affordability, Penn was ranked 41st, falling behind all seven of the other Ivies.
The neighboring Swarthmore College, which is located just 20 minutes away from Penn's campus, was selected as the institution with the third most valuable experience, just beating out Harvard University in fourth place.
The ranking, which was released by Kiplinger, a Washington, D.C.-based publisher of business and finance information, accounts for a school’s selectiveness, student-faculty ratio, and four-year graduation rate. It weighs these academic factors against the school’s total cost, the average financial aid offered, and examines students’ median salary and average debt after graduation.
Earlier this month, Penn's Board of Trustees announced that undergraduate tuition would be increasing by 3.8 percent for the upcoming academic year, exceeding $70,000 in costs for the first time.
Most of the top schools in the Kiplinger ranking were private universities and liberal arts colleges. Princeton University took the first-place position partly because Princeton graduates have some of the lowest rates of student debt within the Ivy League.
In a ranking against only private colleges and universities, Penn placed 17th, just below Washington University in St. Louis and one spot above Boston College.
While Penn had a mediocre showing, Philadelphia schools in general were the highest-ranked among Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities, PhillyVoice reported. Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr colleges all placed in the top 50 along with Penn.
On similar college ranking lists from U.S. News & World Report and Forbes, Penn has ranked 13th and 44th, respectively.
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