U. ranked low in Ivies for value

Though a U.S. News & World Report ranking of seventh in the nation gave University administrators reason to cheer, Penn found itself missing from similar lists of the best-valued schools in higher education. The September issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine rated Penn as 32nd in its list of the top 100 values in private colleges -- and just sixth among the Ivies. And a U.S. News ranking of the best values didn't even put Penn in the top 45, making it last in the Ivy League. The rankings were based on academic and financial measures, including statistics like the average financial aid package and the amount of debt students leave the school with -- two measures in which Penn lags behind its peer schools. Penn Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus said he was "dismayed" by the U.S. News omission. He said he thinks there was "something wrong in their calculations because [Penn is] no different from the other Ivies in terms of the best deals." Some Penn graduates do have "more debt than we'd like to see," Claus said. But Penn's inclusion as the only Ivy League school on U.S. News' list of the 15 schools whose graduates have the most debt was because some of the no-loan programs that Penn students are a part of have not been in effect long enough to impact the debt figures, he said. Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said he was surprised by the ratings but "if anything, we'll be even more aggressive in offering the best [financial aid] package available." The ratings will "force students to ask more questions about financial aid," but should not adversely affect the number of students applying, he added. Penn has long had problems competing with financial aid packages offered by its peer schools because of a low per-student endowment.

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