Princeton Review's 2012 Best Value Private Colleges

The Princeton Review with USA Today just released their list of the "2012 Best Value Colleges." For private institutions, most of the colleges and universities on the list are familiar names. Four schools made it into the top ten who weren't there last year: Pomona College, Hamilton College, Washington University, and Rice University. Bumped out of the top 10 this year were Duke University, Wesleyan University, Wesleyan College, and Vanderbilt University. Keep in mind that the Princeton Review ranking does not look at schools with free tuition such as Cooper Union and Berea College.

For private colleges and universities, The Princeton Review's top 10 are the following (click a school's name for more information):

1. Williams College (Williamstown, Massachusetts)
2. Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, Pennsylvania)
3. Princeton University (Princeton, New Jersey)
4. Harvard College (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
5. Rice University (Houston, Texas)
6. Pomona College (Claremont, California)
7. Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri)
8. Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)
9. California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, California)
10. Hamilton College (Hamilton, New York

This current academic year, Williams College has a total cost over $57,000 a year, so the school's #1 ranking may seem absurd. However, sticker price has little to do with what a typical student pays. The rankings take into consideration a variety of factors such as the quality of the education, the amount of financial aid, and the typical loan burden. In truth, for a student from a low-income family, many $50,000 schools are going to be less expensive than community college.

To see the entire list of 2012 Best Value Colleges, check out the list at The Princeton Review.

If you have opinions about these rankings, please share your thoughts below.