The Arizona State University has been ranked first in the annual list of "best buy" public schools released by Fiske Guide to Colleges. The list is based on quality academic offerings and affordable cost.
ASU is then followed by the University of Edinburgh (UK), The Evergreen State College, the University of Florida and Indiana University. Evergreen is the only college in the Pacific Northwest and the entire west coast to make the cut.
"All of the Fiske Best Buy schools fall into the inexpensive or moderate price category, and most have four- or five-star academics ratings," according to Liz Kelsch, publicity manager for Sourcebooks, Inc., the publisher of Fiske's annual college guide, Huffington Post reports.
University of Iowa grabbed the sixth place on the list. For the tenth consecutive year, Iowa school is chosen as the "Best Buy" in the Fiske Guide to Colleges.
UI is then followed by Iowa State University and University of Mary Washington
UMW is the only institution in Virginia and Washington D.C. to be featured in the distinction.
"I am delighted that, once again, UMW is being recognized for the high quality institution that it is," said President Rick Hurley a statement. "The distinction confirms what we long have known: this university offers a tremendous return on investment."
Edward B. Fiske, former New York Times education editor and the creator of the 31st Fiske Guide, said that UMW can be considered as one of the elite private colleges.
"It offers just as much history and tradition-for a much lower price. . . On the selectivity chart, UMW ranks behind only UVA and William and Mary among Virginia public universities," Fiske said.
Top 10 public colleges deemed "Best Buys of 2015" by Fiske:
1) Arizona State University
2) University of Edinburgh (UK)
3) The Evergreen State College
4) University of Florida
5) Indiana University
6) University of Iowa
7) Iowa State University
8) University of Mary Washington
9) University of Maryland Baltimore County
10) New College of Florida
