U.S. News: Harvard Fifteenth Best Value

One week after naming Harvard the best in the nation in an annual survey, U.S. News and World Report on Monday awarded the University a far less coveted spot in its "Best Value" rankings.

In a survey that considered both the quality and cost of a school in order to determine its placement, Harvard ranked 15th overall and fifth in the Ivy League. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena placed first.

Robert J. Morse, senior editor of U.S. News and director of research for the Best Value survey, compiled the rankings after consulting with financial aid experts and comparing real schools with a computer model of the ideal ratio between academic quality and cost.

"Top schools give so much aid that when you take it in account their price is very reasonable," Morse said.

But even without financial aid some students said degrees stamped with Veritas are worth almost any price.

"Even if I had gotten a better offer from another school, I still wouldn't have gone there," said Mike Mladineo '98.

Representatives from some top academic institutions expressed considerable skepticism about the survey's value and accuracy.

Gary G. Fryer, Yale's director of public affairs, neither rejoiced nor despaired over his university's tenth place ranking.

"We really don't give much credence to these surveys," Fryer said. "I'm half expecting a survey to appear ranking these schools on gross body weight."

Joe Wrinn, director of the Harvard News Office, said he hadn't seen the survey yet, but he didn't seem concerned about the outcome.

"Harvard's quality speaks for itself," Wrinn said.