Fox Cities News

The Princeton Review has named Lawrence University as one of the Best Value Colleges in the country in a 2024 report. Lawrence is one of only two universities in Wisconsin to make the list.

“For more than 175 years, Lawrence University has provided excellence in liberal arts education, emphasizing the integration of academic rigor with career preparedness,” said Robert Nowak, associate vice president of enrollment management. “We are committed to making a Lawrence education accessible to all admitted students through scholarships, financial aid, and our signature Lawrence Advantage program.”

After a family’s institutional need is determined, Lawrence offers scholarships, grants, federal loans, and student employment that, on average, meets 90% to 95% of their need. The Lawrence Advantage meets any remaining need with a supplemental grant for students from Wisconsin or Illinois – the top two states represented among Lawrence’s incoming students.

The Princeton Review annual report, released in late June by the education services company, places Lawrence among 209 best-value colleges in the nation—public and private—based on 40 data points that broadly cover academics, affordability, and career outcomes of graduates. The project does not rank the 209 in any order.

The Princeton Review chose the colleges for its 2024 list—134 of which are private and 75 of which are public—based on data points at 650 institutions in 2023-24. The Princeton Review considered data on academic offerings, cost, financial aid, career services, graduation rates, and student debt. The company also factored in data from its surveys of students attending the colleges and data from PayScale.com’s surveys of alumni about their starting and mid-career salaries and job satisfaction.

The Princeton Review report follows last fall’s U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges ranking, which again listed Lawrence as the No. 1 liberal arts college in Wisconsin. It also ranked Lawrence high—No. 41 nationally—for best value.