Several Virginia Colleges Make List of 50 Most Affordable, Best Return on Investment

Several Virginia colleges made a list of the top 50 colleges considered "most affordable and best return on your investment." The list was published Tuesday by the higher ed Web site AffordableSchools.net.

The Virginia schools that made the list are: University of Virginia, College of William and Mary, George Mason University, Virginia Tech and James Madison University.

To appear in the ranking, a school had to not only keep the cost of tuition down, but also have an excellent track record of giving students the skills and credentials they need to earn a good income, according to a news release from the company.

Numerous studies show that people with a college degree earn substantially more than those with simply a high school diploma (on average more than a million dollars during a lifetime). The colleges in this ranking provide an even more impressive return on investment (ROI).

According to John Ferrer, general editor of AffordableSchools.net: "Because of the soaring cost of a college education, substantial student debt, and a tough job market, parents and students increasingly focus on potential income. That's why we created this ranking of the most affordable colleges with the best return. We are very pleased to highlight these 50 outstanding U.S. colleges that offer a quality higher education and strong job prospects at an affordable price."

The full ranking, along with an explanation of the method for measuring return, can be viewed at this weblink: http://affordableschools.net/50-affordable-colleges-best-return/

Here is AffordableSchools.net's list of the 50 most affordable colleges with the best return (in alphabetical order):

• Auburn University
• Baruch College
• Binghamton University
• California Polytechnic State University
• California State Polytechnic University
• Clemson University
• College of William and Mary
• Colorado School of Mines
• George Mason University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• James Madison University
• Massachusetts Maritime Academy
• Miami University
• Michigan Technological University
• Missouri University of Science and Technology
• Montana Tech
• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
• North Carolina State University
• Oregon Institute of Technology
• Purdue University
• Rutgers University
• San Jose State University
• South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
• Southern Polytechnic State University
• Stony Brook University
• SUNY Maritime College
• Texas A&M University
• United States Air Force Academy
• United States Military Academy
• United States Naval Academy
• University of Alabama
• University of Arizona
• University of California - Berkeley
• University of California - Davis
• University of California - Irvine
• University of California - Los Angeles
• University of California - San Diego
• University of California - Santa Barbara
• University of Delaware
• University of Houston
• University of Illinois at Chicago
• University of Maryland - College Park
• University of Michigan
• University of Minnesota
• University of Texas - Austin
• University of Virginia
• University of Washington
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• West Virginia University Institute of Technology