BOONE—Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has ranked Appalachian State University No. 27 in its list of 100 best values in public universities for in-state students.

The list is composed of schools with “outstanding academic quality plus an affordable price tag.” Data from 500 public four-year colleges and universities were considered in the rankings.

Other UNC system schools in the rankings include, UNC Chapel Hill ranked at No. 1,
N.C. State University ranked at No. 13, UNC Wilmington at No. 36, UNC Asheville at No. 40 and UNC Greensboro at No. 68.

Academic quality factors considered in the rankings include the percentage of the 2006-07 freshman class scoring 600 or higher on the verbal and math components of the SAT (or scoring 24 or higher on the ACT), admission rates, freshman retention rates, student-faculty ratios and the four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the student cohort entering in 2000.

In terms of cost and financial aid, the magazine considered the total cost for in-state students (tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, and estimated expenses for books), average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans), average cost for a student without need after subtracting non-need-based grants, average percentage of need met by aid (need-based assistance) and average debt a student accumulates before graduation.

The magazine lists Appalachian’s in-state costs at $10,897 a year, discounted to $6,186 a year after all sources of aid are considered. The average student debt at graduation is $14,838.

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