By Andy Dahn
BLOOMINGTON – Illinois State University has been ranked 4th among the Best Bang for the Buck Colleges in the Midwest in the 2015 Washington Monthly College Rankings.
ISU was the only university in Illinois to be ranked in the top five, something university spokesman Eric Jome said reflects the hard work being done at ISU.
“I think this is a nice external validation of what we’ve known around here for quite a long time,” Jome said. “That is that a good return on your investment is what you get with an Illinois State University education.”
Rankings are based on university’s social mobility, research and civic engagement. Jome said another reason for ISU’s ranking is the work the university does for student financial aid.
“We’re able to offer quite a good deal for financial aid,” said Jome. “Our financial aid office really works with students and their parents to identify lots of different avenues of funding to make college affordable and available.”
Jome said the ranking can lead to more student enrollment moving forward.
“The bigger picture is that the word about the good value here gets out,” Jome said. “People come to school and like it here, they graduate and then their kids come to school here or other members of their family come here. So our alums not only are generous with supporting scholarships and other things, but they’re also one of our best recruiting tools.”
The ranking also includes colleges that are doing the best job of helping students attain marketable degrees at a reasonable cost.
Andy Dahn can be reached at andy.dahn@cumulus.com.
