FARMINGTON, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington has earned a top spot in Washington Monthly's2015 Best Bang for the Buck college rankings. The school placed 14 out of 400 public and private colleges in the Northeast. A number of other Maine schools also placed in the top 100.
Most people like a good deal, and the idea behind Washington Monthly's Best Bang for the Buck ranking is to find the best buy for low-to-moderate income families shopping for higher ed. The publication evaluates schools based on the net cost of education, graduate rates, and graduation performance - which is measured by how many students default on their college loans.
Washington Monthly Editor-in-Chief Paul Glastris says the University of Maine at Farmington scores well in all areas. "Reasonable tuition, good student aid. They obviously are doing a good job on graduation rates and graduation performance. They bring in a lot of kids with modest means and get them diplomas. So the combination of all that is why they did so well."
According to the Bang for the Buck rankings, UMaine Farmington has an above-average graduation rate of 58 percent, and the net cost for students is a little more than $13,000. Vice president of enrollment at UMaine Farmington, Jared Cash, says a five-year tuition freeze in the state university system has helped limit the schoool's price tag. "But on top of that, University of Maine Farmington has had several years now where it's increased its financial aid budget."
Cash says the school also provides aid throughout a student's four years of school, which helps retain students and increase graduation rates. He says the school will continue to provide financial aid - if not grow it.
"One of the philosophies that is embedded here in Farmington is we want to recuirt the class once," Cash says. "It's actually an expensive journey to recruit a student who matriculates in the fall the following year."
The University of Maine Farmington's efforts appear to have paid off - not only for students, but for the school's rank, which catapulted from 151 two years ago to its current rank of 14.
Four other Maine schools earned rankings in the top 100 Bang for the Buck in the Northeast: the College of the Atlantic at 48, Colby College at 55, University of Maine Orono at 93, and Husson University in Bangor at 97.
