Texas Border Business
By Amanda L. Alaniz
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas — UTRGV was recently named a 2021 Top Colleges for Your Money by Forbes.com, joining a prestigious list that also includes Stanford, Princeton, Georgia Tech, Harvard and MIT.
The online publication ranked the top 25 schools nationwide that deliver the best return on investment, as determined by the Price-to-Earnings Premium. UTRGV ranked eighth on the list (5th among public schools) and was the only Texas university ranked among the top 10.
Stanford, Princeton, Georgia Tech, Harvard and MIT ranked third, fourth, fifth, seventh and 13th, respectively.
President Guy Bailey said that being ranked alongside some of the most prominent universities in the country reflects UTRGV’s exceptional ability to offer a high-quality education at an affordable price.
“At UTRGV, we are committed to helping ensure that our students graduate and obtain excellent jobs, all without having to mortgage their futures,” Bailey said. “This recognition by Forbes is a testament of our faculty and staff working together for the success of our students. We have and will continue to provide many opportunities that will help our students graduate while remaining affordable.”
Earlier this year, to assist more students, the university announced it was expanding its Tuition Advantage program to $100,000 and revealed its new Luminary Scholars program. This December, UTRGV graduated more than 3,900 students at its in-person Fall 2021 Commencement ceremonies.
Additionally, Forbes also announced its overall 2021 America’s Top Colleges rankings, with UTRGV ranked among the Top 10 Texas Public Universities list, joining Texas Tech, Texas A&M and UT Austin.
To rank the institutions, the magazine reviews colleges and universities that educate undergraduates, based on their Carnegie Classification, a higher education framework that categorizes schools by degree offerings, research output and specialty focus.
It also reviews doctoral research universities, master’s universities and colleges and baccalaureate colleges, as well as colleges with four-year programs in engineering, business and art. Average debt, average grant assistance, graduation rate and retention rate all are considered in the methodology.
To view the Forbes America’s Top Colleges list, visit https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/.
