Money magazine’s new college rankings do not favor Arizona schools

PHOENIX — Arizona schools did not fare well on a list of four-year colleges that offer the most bang for your tuition buck.

A new college listing by Money Magazine looked at the roughly 1,500 four-year colleges and universities in the country and listed the University of Arizona at 99th, Arizona State University at 214th and the Northern Arizona University at 562nd.

The magazine’s new numbers tell a different story than the Fiske Guide to Colleges list of “best buy” colleges in the country, which listed Arizona State University as No. 1.

The result is our new Best Colleges rankings. This is the first list of colleges that combines the most accurate pricing estimates available with estimates of likely earnings that take into account a student’s economic background, test scores, and major.

The schools were ranked based on 17 factors in three equally weighted categories: quality of education, affordability and outcomes.

The University of Arizona’s net price of their degrees was listed at $98,556, with an average annual salary within five years of $48,400.

Arizona State University offered a lower price of degree at $96,197, but also a lower average annual salary within five years at approximately $45,700.

Finally, Northern Arizona University offered the highest net price of their degree of the three in-state universities at $99,057, while their average annual salary within five years was the lowest at $40,300.

Babson College, a business-focused institution in Massachusetts, provided the best value education in the United States, with the Webb Institute in Glen Cove, N.Y., and M.I.T. in Cambridge, Mass., coming in second and third.