Iowa private colleges listed as best values by magazine

Five private colleges and universities in Iowa were named this week to the Best Values in Private Colleges in 2011-12 list, released by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.

The colleges were ranked using various factors affecting overall value, including four-year graduation rate, student debt at graduation and low class size, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance. The report will appear in Kiplinger's December issue, though the full list of top 200 schools can be found at www.kiplinger.com/links/college.

The magazine ranks 100 schools in the private liberal arts college category and 100 schools in the private universities category. The Iowa schools included were: Grinnell College, ranked 17th; Cornell College in Mount Vernon, ranked 79th; Luther College in Decorah, ranked 84th; Coe College in Cedar Rapids, ranked 93rd; and Drake University in Des Moines, ranked 64th in the private university category.

Princeton University took top honors among private universities for the second consecutive year, and Pomona ranked number one for liberal arts colleges for a third time.