Carlton ranks as Minnesota's best college or university in new survey
A new report ranked Carleton College in Northfield at the top of the list among the best schools in Minnesota, based on categories including admission rate, net cost and financing, and career outcomes.
The school boasts a "strong admission rate, very selective, very low student faculty ratio – which is one of the key factors that we look at – very good diversity, graduation rate," said WalletHub's Chip Lupo.
Rounding out the list of Minnesota schools considered to be the best of the best were Macalester, St. Olaf, the University of Minnesota, and Concordia College in Moorhead.
If you are the parent of a teenager, chances are you're preoccupied with college rankings, rising costs and tough decisions. Money plays a big role in college decisions for eight out of 10 families, according to a report by Sallie Mae. That means financial considerations outweigh even academic bona fides.
Cozy Wittman, with College Inside Track – a local company that guides parents through the decision and purchase of college – says COVID-era tuition freezes are over and many schools are raising prices fast.
"I would rather people think hard about that investment than go into this willy-nilly with hope as their strategy for paying," Wittman said.
The so-called "behind the scenes" discounts, like merit aid, are one way families look to keep their bottom line intact, and they're mostly keeping up.
"What they're keeping up with are kind of the pricing around local flagship schools. So as those flagship schools continue to increase, and we can use maybe St. Thomas and the U as our example, here you'll find St. Thomas's pricing after discounting merit scholarship dollars to come in pretty close. But they can say things like, smaller classrooms, better outcomes," Wittman said.
Wittman added the real savings come from finding your students' best fit, financially, academically and socially.
"One of the easiest ways to do it is to find the right fit the first time. Thirty-eight percent of kids end up changing schools at some point during their four years. When a student does that and they go state school to state school, it actually increases the cost of their degree by about $14,000," Wittman said.
Along with its paid services, College Inside Track offers free information and a quiz to see how your family is doing with the college process.