After looking at 1,406 public and private colleges and universities across the country, Washington Monthly magazine has named Piedmont College among the institutions offering the “Best Bang for the Buck.”
Piedmont took the 20th spot among the 100 schools in the Southeast selected by the magazine for the “extent to which they charge students a reasonable price for quality education that will advance them in their careers,” the editors said.
For the “Best Bang” category, institutions of all sizes were ranked based on a number of key variables, including net price, graduation rates, student loan repayments, income after graduation, and the number of first generation students attending. The Southeast area included schools in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Based in Washington, D.C., and founded in 1969, Washington Monthly covers government, politics, and education. Its annual ranking of colleges is designed to complement similar rankings by U.S. News and World Report. In the most current U.S. News ranking, Piedmont is ranked third among regional universities in Georgia.
“I think our students and alumni know that Piedmont has always offered the ‘best bang for the buck,’ but it is good to get national affirmation,” said President James F. Mellichamp. “The same data that Washington Monthly used shows that Piedmont is one of the most affordable private colleges in the Southeast, while also ranking high in quality of instruction.”
Piedmont also recently earned recognition for the second year from the national Colleges of Distinction, a student guide that highlights innovative undergraduate learning opportunities. Colleges of Distinction are selected based on a review of their freshman experience, as well as their general education program, strategic plan, and alumni success and satisfaction surveys. In July, Piedmont was tagged as an “up-and-comer” by the BestColleges academic guide, which ranked it sixth in the state among four-year colleges and universities.
