Princeton Review lauds Grove City College as a 'Best Value'

Grove City College provides an “exceptional” return on investment for students, according to The Princeton Review.

The respected educational services company, which many prospective parents and students depend upon for making informed college choices, identified the College as an affordable and academically outstanding college with a record of success at guiding students to rewarding careers in the latest edition of “The Best Value Colleges.”

“The Princeton Review affirms what we already know; Grove City College is an elite higher education institution. Only seven percent of the nation’s four-year colleges and universities were selected for this distinction, which is based on excellent academics, affordability and the success of our students and graduates,” College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said. “Grove City College’s rating is based in part on a highly-competitive sticker price of less than $30,000 annually – an extraordinary value indeed. Princeton Review strongly recommends us for all that we do to help students succeed while delivering an amazing college experience that’s worth every dollar.”

The Princeton Review identified and evaluated more than 650 leading colleges and universities from the thousands that exist before determining which 200 schools offer students the right combination of academic excellence, affordability and strong career prospects. Inclusion is based on a comprehensive analysis of information from administrator and student surveys, academic data and alumni success metrics. As a result, Grove City College posted a return on investment ranking of 88 on a scale that tops out at 99.

“The schools we chose … are truly distinctive and diverse in their programs, size, region and type, yet they are similar in three areas. Every school we selected offers outstanding academics, generous financial aid and/or relative low cost of attendance, and stellar career services,” Robert Franek, the guide’s lead author and The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief, said. “We recommend them highly to college applicants and parents seeking schools that are academically top-notch and committed to making their programs affordable. These colleges are also standouts at guiding their students to rewarding futures."

Student surveys conducted for the guide ranked Grove City College number eight in the nation for internships. The College’s Career Services Office – which is ranked 12^th in the country according to The Princeton Review’s 2020 "The Best 385 Colleges" guide – spearheads the internship process in concert with academic departments and helps students secure “on-the-job training” with a strong alumni network and a “really good reputation with employers,” according to the guide.

To determine academic quality, the Princeton Review looks at SAT/ACT scores, freshmen GPAs and student surveys on faculty effectiveness. It evaluates affordability by looking at the cost of tuition, financial aid and student opinion. Online salary tracker PayScale.com provides information on post-graduate success. 

Those measures are favorable for Grove City College, which has the lowest tuition of any private college in Pennsylvania and an on-time graduation rate of 84 percent which far exceeds national averages. The College reports that 96 percent of recent graduates are gainfully employed or enrolled in a post-graduate program within six months of graduation. Compensation data collected by PayScale.com indicates an average starting salary of $54,400 and mid-career earnings of $105,500 for alumni.

According to The Princeton Review:

• Grove City College’s Christ-centered learning and living environment inspires most students “to apply their spiritual relationship with God to all activities on campus, whether it be academic or social. And, this philosophy works.”
• Faculty are “engaging, approachable, and very knowledgeable about the course material” and “challenge [students] to ask hard questions” both in an area of study and on a more personal level.
• The College “welcomes students with open arms” and it is very easy to find “a community that encourages and inspires one another.” Students are ‘hardworking and highly motivated to do well.’”

See Grove City College’s “The Best Value Colleges: 200 Schools with Exceptional ROI for Your Tuition Investment” listing online at www.princetonreview.com.

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