Baruch Ranks #1 “Best Bang for the Buck Colleges” in New York: Washington Monthly

#2 in Northeast among public institutions

September 8, 2020

Baruch College continues to reap national recognition for high value and strong graduate outcomes as seen in Washington Monthly’s “Best Bang for the Buck Colleges” ranking. Baruch places #1 in New York—and #2 in the Northeast among public institutions—where students get the most for their money.

Throughout the years, Baruch College consistently ranks among the top ten schools by Washington Monthly, and earned the #1 spot for “Best Affordable Elite Colleges” in 2019.

At-a-Glance:

• #1 in New York among all colleges and universities
• #2 in Northeast among public institutions
• #9 out of 397 public and private Northeast colleges

An Engine of Social Mobility

In its analysis of Baruch, Washington Monthly explains: “At Baruch College, low-income students with Pell Grants graduate at essentially the same rate as their wealthier peers. And the cost of attending is reasonable; for a student from a household earning less than $75,000, Baruch has a net price of $2,789 per year. This is what an engine of social mobility looks like.”

Washington Monthly notes that its rankings reward colleges and universities based on “how well they serve the country as a whole—by recruiting and graduating non-wealthy students, encouraging student activism, and producing research and technologies that create high-paying jobs and address threats like climate change.”

Accolades for Academic Success and Return on Investment

In the last few months alone, Baruch has earned nationwide recognition for its high-quality academic programs, and successfully advancing students to career success:

• “Best 386 Colleges” annual guidebook – The Princeton Review
• #1: “Four-Year Public Colleges as Engines of Economic Mobility” – Brookings Institution
• #2: “Best Public Institutions for Return on Investment” – CNBC

Methodology

According to Washington Monthly, the “Best Bang for Your Buck” ranking is to “help non-wealthy students obtain marketable degrees at affordable prices.” Its methodology consists of three equally weighted portions: social mobility, research, and community and national service. This means that top-ranked colleges need to be excellent across the full breadth of those measures, rather than excelling in just one. A detailed explanation of the ranking is available here, as well as each individual rankings.

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