Grace College and Seminary has been ranked number 11 in “Best Bang for the Buck” list, an exclusive list by Washington Monthly of the colleges in America that do the best job of helping non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.
Colleges included on the list must meet four criteria: first, at least 20 percent of their students must be receiving Pell Grants, which go to students of modest incomes. Second, they must have a graduation rate of at least 50 percent. Additionally, a fifth of these graduates must come from lower income households (a demographic that tends to graduate in lower numbers). Third, each school’s actual graduation rate must meet or exceed the rate that would be statistically predicted for that school given the number of lower-income students. Fourth, to make sure their graduates are earning enough in the workforce to at least cover their student loans, schools must have a student loan default rate of 10 percent or less.
Out of the 1,572 colleges and universities in the broader rankings, only 349 made the cut as best-bang-for-the-buck schools. Grace College was ranked 11th in the Baccalaureate Colleges division, and was the fourth Indiana college listed overall. This honor comes on the heels of Grace’s recent ranking among the most efficient Midwest colleges by U.S. News and World Report.
“Placing 11th on the 2013 Baccalaureate ‘Best Bang for the Buck’ list is tremendously exciting for the Grace College community,” said Bill Katip, Grace College & Seminary president. “It shows that our efforts to bring a quality, affordable education to more students have been a great success so far.”
Grace College tirelessly seeks to find a balance between pricing and value. The school maintains a strong student retention rate and provides competitive financial awards. Grace adds to this value through partnerships with Trine University for Engineering and Bethel College for Nursing, and degree programs at commuter locations in Detroit, Fort Wayne, and Indianapolis. Recently, Grace made quality education even more affordable by introducing new accelerated blended degree program for both bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. Students who take advantage of these innovative programs receive a bachelor’s degree in three years and a master’s degree in four years, cutting the price and time of their education by a full year. Grace College is one of the few public or private universities nationally to offer three-year bachelor’s degree and four-year master’s degree programs across its entire curriculum.