New ranking says these are Indiana's best value colleges. Where did IU Bloomington fall?
Brian Rosenzweig
A new study ranks Indiana University Bloomington among the best value colleges in Indiana – but it lags behind other universities like Purdue and the University of Notre Dame. IU Bloomington ranked fifth overall.
The study from financial technology company SmartAsset ranks the “best value colleges” in Indiana across five categories: tuition, student living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, student retention rate and starting salary for new graduates. The ranking included both public universities like IU Bloomington and Purdue University and private schools like Notre Dame and Wabash College.
Where did Indiana University rank on the best value colleges list?
Indiana University Bloomington ranked fifth in Indiana for the best value colleges, behind (in order) Purdue, Notre Dame, Wabash College and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. IU Bloomington ranked above schools like DePauw University, Taylor University and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (soon to split into Indiana University Indianapolis and Purdue University Indianapolis).
The top 10 colleges in Indiana are as follows:
Top 10 colleges in Indiana
- Purdue University
- University of Notre Dame
- Wabash College
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- Indiana University-Bloomington
- DePauw University
- Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
- Taylor University
- Trine University
- Valparaiso University
What is the best value college in Indiana?
Sorry, Hoosiers. According to the SmartAsset study, IU's rival, Purdue University, ranks as the best value college in Indiana. Its combination of scholarships awarded, tuition cost, cost of living, student retention rate and average starting salary gave it a score of 86.8 on SmartAsset's college education value index, compared to IU's 71.33.
However, the study fails to account for some important measures of affordability and value, including percent of students receiving aid, for which IU beats out Purdue by 35%.
Why didn’t Indiana University rank higher?
The SmartAsset study ranked Indiana’s colleges across the five categories of tuition, student living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, student retention rate and starting salary for new graduates. While Indiana University ranked among the top three for cost of tuition and student living costs, it fell behind peers including Notre Dame and Purdue for average amount of scholarships awarded and student retention rates (Purdue had 91% and Notre Dame had 98% retention, to IU’s 90%).
It should be noted that while IU students may receive less in scholarships and grants per person, financial aid is more widespread among IU students. 83% of IU students received financial aid in 2021-2022, compared to 48% at Purdue and 52% at Notre Dame in the same year.
Is Notre Dame really a better value than Indiana University?
That depends on how you define “value.” SmartAsset’s ranking of Indiana colleges’ “value” essentially looks at the “return on investment” for each college by comparing tuition and cost of living with the average starting salary. Notre Dame is the No. 20 best college in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report, and has a concentration of students majoring in high-paying fields like economics and computer science. Notre Dame students graduate with an average starting salary of $73,000 a year, compared to IU’s $57,900.
But Notre Dame’s undergraduate tuition for the upcoming academic year is over $64,000 per year, compared to IU’s $12,142 for in-state students ($41,890 for out-of-state students). And while Notre Dame’s scholarship packages are bigger, it awards about 30% fewer students with financial aid than IU.
According to CollegeFactual, IU students borrow an average of $24,136 over four years. Notre Dame students take out approximately $28,576.
That’s likely why Rose-Hulman, with an average tuition of $58,848 and a starting salary of $80,500 a year, also beat out IU on the ranking.
Which Indiana colleges have the cheapest tuition?
Of the 10 best-value colleges the SmartAsset study ranked, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis won the title for cheapest tuition, at $11,169 a year. That’s followed by Purdue, at $11,791 a year, and then IU, at $12,604.
Vincennes University, which did not appear on the ranking, holds the title for the cheapest tuition for a four-year bachelor’s degree, at $3,563 per year.
Reach Brian Rosenzweig atbrian@heraldt.com. Follow him on Twitter/X at@brianwritesnews.