http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfin...ools/colleges/
#52 Indiana University Bloomington IN
29,549 enroll. $14,092 in-state
THE KIPLINGER 100
Best Values in Public Colleges
Our fifth ranking of 100 schools that offer academic excellence at an affordable price finds a familiar name at the top of the list. See if your state school is a contender.
By Kimberly Lankford
THE KIPLINGER 100
Find Your Top College Value
Sort the universities in our latest survey of public colleges by in-state and out-of-state overall rank, cost, quality measures or financial aid measures.
Talk about creative financing. The mortgage industry has nothing on public colleges and universities, which have used lottery tickets, T-shirts, baseball caps and private fundraisers to hold down costs and boost financial aid.
State budget crises pushed up average tuition and fees at four-year public colleges by 57% over the past five years, reports the College Board. At the same time, many colleges have cut financial aid, some by 20% to 40%.
But with an average annual tuition of $5,491, public colleges still beat the $21,235 tab you'd pay at a private school. And some of the best public colleges in the country now guarantee that students whose families earn less than $38,000 per year won't have to take out any loans. That includes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which for the fifth straight time tops Kiplinger's list as the best value among the nation's public colleges and universities.
In addition, more states are luring top talent away from private colleges by giving a free ride to students with stellar SAT scores or a high school grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Fourteen states offer statewide merit scholarships, generally funded by lottery income, of which Georgia's HOPE scholarship is probably the best known.
Carolina green
In our exclusive survey, we identified the 100 schools that offer the best combination of high-quality academics and affordable costs. Top-ranked UNC has kept its price well below average -- charging about $4,600 for in-state tuition and fees in the 2005-06 academic year (and $12,029 per year when you add in room, board and books) -- while providing generous financial assistance. It's the only school in our survey that meets 100% of each student's financial need. (Need is the difference between a college's cost and the amount that formulas calculate a family can afford to pay.) It's more common for colleges to meet 80% of need or less.
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