Washington Monthly ranked the University of Vermont 24th among all colleges and universities in the nation on its "Best Bang for the Buck" list in the magazine’s annual College Guide issue, published in September. An online version also appeared this month.

The magazine included 349 institutions in the “Best Bang for the Buck” ranking, chosen from a total pool of 1,572 schools. The ranking takes into account the following factors:

• The percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, which are targeted to low-income families (22 percent for UVM);
• Average six-year graduation rate (72 percent for UVM);
• Expected graduation rate, based on the number of low-income students a school admits, with points being awarded if the actual rate is higher (65 percent for UVM);
• Default rate of alumni (for UVM alums, 3 percent); and
• Net price, which takes into account grants and scholarships and is based on in-state tuition ($8,927 at UVM).

Washington Monthly also ranked UVM 14th among 79 "Best Bang for the Buck" national universities.

In an introduction to the College Guide feature, the magazine writes, “This year we also offer an exclusive list of ‘Best Bang for the Buck’ colleges -- schools that do the best job helping non-rich students earn marketable degrees at affordable prices."