Georgian Court Among ‘Best Bang for the Buck’ Colleges and Universities

Lakewood, N.J., August 25, 2015—For the second consecutive year, Georgian Court University is ranked as a “Best Bang for the Buck” by editors and researchers at Washington Monthly magazine.

GCU is #21 on the magazine’s list of more than 400 schools in the northeast. The new accolade, which is part of Washington Monthly’s annual College Guide, comes just weeks after Georgian Court was named among Money Magazine’s Top 50 Schools That Add the Most Value.

“As policymakers and the public raise questions about the costs of college, the Washington Monthly ranking is another indication that higher education should be viewed as an investment, and that a Georgian Court education is an exceptional value as an investment,” said GCU President Joseph R. Marbach, Ph.D.

Researchers at Washington Monthly considered a range of factors in choosing schools for its “Best Bang for the Buck” list, including student loan default rates; graduation rates; the percentage of students with lower incomes who qualify for federal Pell grants; and the net price to attend the college.

Increasingly, more third-party organizations are expanding their methodology when ranking colleges and universities.

“There is a recognition that rankings based on prestige don’t tell the whole story,” said Robert Kelchen, Ph.D., one of the report’s editors and an assistant professor in Seton Hall University’s Department of Education Leadership, Management and Policy. “They do a good job of telling students how much a college has, but not how well a college does for a school that enrolls students similar to them.”

Overall, the “Best Bang for the Buck” editors said the list reflects “colleges that are doing the best job of helping non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.”

Founded in 1908 and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, Georgian Court University is South Jersey’s only Catholic university. GCU is a comprehensive, coeducational university with a strong liberal arts core and an historic, special concern for women. As a forward-thinking university that supports diversity and academic excellence, Georgian Court expands possibility for more than 2,300 students of all faiths and backgrounds in 30+ undergraduate majors and more than 10 graduate programs. The main campus is located at 900 Lakewood Avenue, Lakewood, New Jersey, on the picturesque former George Jay Gould estate, a National Historic Landmark. Georgian Court also serves students at New Jersey Coastal Communiversity in Wall and through multiple online certificate and degree programs.