Samford University continues to rank high on the annual list of best values in rankings released Oct. 17 by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Kiplinger's released two top 100 best value lists -private universities and liberal arts colleges - and Samford is 64th on the list of top 100 best private universities. 

Kiplinger's rates universities in five areas: cost and financial aid; student indebtedness, competitiveness, graduate rates; and academic support, which includes freshman-to-sophomore retention rates and student-to-faculty ratio.

"These are areas that are very important to Samford and are part of our conversations as we tell the Samford story," said Jason Black, Samford's dean of admission. "We also know that these are important factors for families considering Samford, and we are pleased to have this level of national recognition for our academic programs and our overall value. It affirms, yet again, the value of a Samford education."

The largest factor in the ratings is cost and financial aid, which helps Samford, Black said. According to Kiplinger's, the most points go to "schools with the lowest cost - tuition, fees, room and board, and books - with equal points to schools that knock down the price through non-need-based aid." Samford's total cost for a full-time undergraduate student this year is $36,700, was among the lowest on the list.

Samford compares favorably with its peers in the 2013 rankings. Samford is is one of only two schools in Alabama to make either list. Birmingham-Southern College is 82nd on the liberal arts college list.

Elon University (22) and Samford are the only two Southern Conference members in the Kiplinger top 100 rankings of private universities. Other private institutions in the Southern Conference are classified as liberal arts colleges. Elon and Rollins College had ranked just ahead of Samford in the recently released U.S. News & World Report annual college rankings.

The complete lists are available online and will be published in the December print edition of the magazine.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.