by Dave Williams | Apr 8, 2021 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech provides the best value among the Peach State’s public and private universities, according to a new study by a New York-based financial technology company.
The Atlanta school scored a college education value index of 83.71, well above the second-highest score of 57.90 posted by the University of Georgia, the report by SmartAsset found.
The scores were based on factors including student living and tuition costs, student retention rates, the average starting salary of graduates and the availability of scholarships and grants.
The main category that separated Georgia Tech from the rest of the pack was the average starting salary of $74,500 for Tech graduates.
Closest to that figure was $63,500, the average starting salary for graduates of Atlanta’s Emory University. However, Emory’s tuition of $51,306 per year topped the list, accounting for the school placing third on the SmartAsset list.
The University of Georgia’s second-place showing among the 10 schools listed in the report was attributable to the average starting salary for UGA graduates – $55,700, behind only Georgia Tech and Emory – combined with its reasonable tuition and student living costs.
Not surprisingly, the private universities listed – Emory, Oglethorpe University and Mercer University – charge the highest tuitions. As a result, they also offer the largest scholarships and grants, partly offsetting the costs of attending those schools.
Besides Georgia Tech and UGA, Georgia State University scored highest among the public universities, placing fourth on the list just ahead of Oglethorpe.
The full report can be found at Student Loan Calculator (2021) – Estimate Your Loan Repayment | SmartAsset.com
