Money Magazine recently released a list of top U.S. colleges, ranking Presbyterian College #84 overall. PC was also recognized as the only South Carolina higher education institution on a list of 25 Best Liberal Arts Colleges, coming in at #21. According to Money, the magazine’s college report is “a new approach to ranking colleges that uses unique measures of educational quality, affordability, and career outcome​s to help families find the right school at the right price.”

Money senior writer Kim Clark, who created the rankings, said the final result “is a list of colleges – some famous, some surprising – that, according to the best data available, provide real value. College is expensive, but the highly rated colleges on our list are the most likely to do a great job of educating your student and helping to launch him or her into a well-paying job.”

PC was also highlighted in a recent article published by the Greenville Journal that said the Money Magazine rankings “pay particular attention to how much money a diploma will cost and how much money that diploma will be worth in the job market after graduation.”

Zach Sprouse ’13 said that while at PC, he was able to invest in developing strong written and oral communication skills, Zach recently had a column published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and believes that “strong communication skills” appear in nearly every job posting, but few businesses will spend time helping their new hires improve their writing.”

“The value, the return on investment [for strong written and oral communication skills], has already become apparent in my corporate experience and graduate school options.”

Many variables helped determine Money Magazine’s final rankings, including a look at early and mid-career salaries of graduates, the school’s graduation rate, students’ perception of quality and the average net price of a degree rather than full “sticker price” that very few students actually pay. Money also factored in the average amount of debt a student accumulates during their time at school and their loan default risk.

PC has also been voted one of the 50 Great Affordable Colleges in the South for 2014 by GreatValueColleges.net and was named a “Best Buy” by Fiske Guide in both 2012 and 2013.

With just over 1,400 students, PC boasts a 13:1 student/faculty ratio, a group of varsity athletes that make up 33% of the student body and a residential campus where 98% of students live throughout the school year.  We are proud to be among these distinguished higher education institutions included on the Money list. These rankings highlight the value of a PC education—something that all our Blue Hose know firsthand!