“… To help you weigh your options, we present our annual list of best public college values. The institutions that earn top honors on our list range from small schools to immense flagship universities, but they all meet our definition of value: a high-quality education at an affordable price. We start by looking for schools with strong academics, including a competitive admission rate, a low student-faculty ratio and a record of getting students out of school on time. We award the most points for four-year graduation rates, but to reflect the benefit that comes from earning a degree–even if it takes more than four years–we’ve revised the rankings to award a handful of points for five- and six-year graduation rates. We also reward schools that do a stellar job of graduating students with financial need.” …
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-best-values-public-colleges-135254201.html