The world of college admissions is ever-changing and for students with top university ambitions, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest developments. This week WalletHub released its 2022-23 ranking for top universities that provide the best value for money. Check back next week to see what’s new and noteworthy in university admissions!

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MIT ranked number one in best value for money by WalletHub in its 2022-23 list

WalletHub, recently released its 2022-23 university rankings to give students a look at which institutions could give them the highest quality for the lowest prices.  

With selectivity and education outcomes as two main variables in its methodology, however, WalletHub’s elite group of 2023 Colleges and Universities looks strikingly similar to its counterparts. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, No. 1 on a few other lists, is also WalletHub’s top institution. There are four Ivy League schools in the Top 10, led by Yale (No. 2), Princeton (No. 4), Harvard (No. 5) and Penn (No. 8). Other institutions like Caltech (No. 3), Stanford (No. 6), Rice (No. 7), Georgia Tech (No. 9) and Duke (No. 10) also rose to the top.  

To determine the top-performing schools at the lowest possible costs to undergraduates, WalletHub compared more than 900 higher-education institutions in the U.S. across 30 key measures. The data set is grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost & Financing and Career Outcomes. The metrics range from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary. 

Recognizing the challenge of predicting future outcomes, WalletHub’s Best Colleges ranking also analyzes post-attendance metrics — the student-loan default rate and the share of former students outearning high school graduates, for instance — to show the value of the education students can expect to receive beyond their undergraduate studies.  

For all of their brilliance, none of the top 8 institutions even finished in the top 700 in terms of cost and financing—that is, net cost and availability of employment services for students. No. 1 on that list was Chicago State University, followed by Texas A&M International University and Florida Polytechnic University. Several City University of New York schools did extraordinarily well in that metric and also landed near or within the top 100 overall. For students who think they may be able to afford big-ticket schools or even get in, these could be great options.

WalletHub offered best career outcomes, such as ROI, employment after six months, median salary and debt reduction as a standalone category, and only five of the top 20 schools managed to land in the top 10: Caltech, Penn, Duke, Carnegie Mellon and Harvey Mudd. In the other categories, Caltech was best for faculty resources, New York University earned the top spot for campus experience, and Columbia University was No. 1 for career outcomes. 

Other top stories in admissions news this week:

1. Student enrollment at US colleges and universities has dropped for the third consecutive year, Inside Higher Ed reported, continuing a trend that began during COVID. Overall enrollment fell by 1.1%, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. This rate of decline has decreased by almost a third since fall 2020. The undergraduate count is now “about 7% lower than it was in fall 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic rocked higher education,” the Washington Post reported. Early signs had led many to predict a slight rebound from the steep two-year drop-off during the pandemic.
2. US News and World Report put out a list of schools that still require SAT or ACT scores for applicants. The list includes MIT, Georgetown, University of Florida, University of Georgia, and University of Tennessee among others. Recently, more schools have adopted test-optional or test-blind admissions policies, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic temporarily shutting down testing sites. In fact, now more than 1,800 schools no longer require applicants to submit scores. 
3. The percentage of US students who study abroad has held steady at less than 2% year over year for the last three decades, according to IIE Open Doors Data. The PIE News reported that colleges, universities, and third-party providers have failed to scale the number of students participating in mobility-based global experiences like study abroad and international internships.