Swarthmore College got the top spot for private colleges in The Princeton Review’s “100 Best Value Colleges” for 2010.
Beating out Harvard (No. 2), Wesleyan College (No. 3), Princeton (No. 4), and Yale (No. 5), just to name a few, Swarthmore was lauded for its supportive professors and administration; abundance of academic resources; expansive curriculum and its “bright and creative” student body.
The almost 1,500-undergrad college is considered the best bang for your buck because of its staggeringly generous financial aid resources. The retail price for a year at Swarthmore is almost $50,000, but half of all undergrads get need-based financial aid every year.
And financial aid at Swarthmore does not include loans-- it’s free money. There is an abundant amount of merit-based awards and scholarships.
“Don’t assume you won’t receive aid because your family is too wealthy and definitely—please!—don’t assume you can’t afford Swarthmore because your family isn’t wealthy enough,” the Review states.
