The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2020 ranked Arizona State University in the top 10 list of ‘Best Buy’ public universities in the nation. Arizona State University (ASU) was the only school among Arizona universities to make the top 10 list.

“We are honored to be included among the top 10 public universities out of more than 300 assessed by Fiske,” Mark Searle, executive vice president and university provost, said in a media release.

Universities were judged on the quality of their undergraduate academics in relation to cost. ASU was recognized for its low student debt compared to other universities, according to a media release.

The Fiske Guide to Colleges is updated and expanded each year and serves as a guide for those who are interested in college, college-bound and for parents of those students.

“It is a testament to the hard work of our faculty and staff that we have students from every state in the nation, and from more than 130 countries, who seek out ASU for its high-quality education at a great value. We focus intensely on efforts to be accessible to students from every background. The Fiske Guide’s evaluation is an acknowledgment of the success we’re having,” Searle said in a media release.

2018 Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) data shows Arizona ranks fourth among low-debt states. It also has one of the lowest national averages for student loan debt.

“Data presented compares Arizona’s public university student loan debt according to students’ undergraduate majors with wages earned for the class of 2012. Included in the analysis are 9,406 Arizona public university graduates from 38 majors who were living and working full time in Arizona in 2017,” according to an ABOR release.

ASU had the lowest median student loan debt five years after graduation at $18,763. Northern Arizona University had a median student loan debt of $21,892 and University of Arizona had $18,995.

A comparably low student loan after five years could be linked to income.

In addition to having the lowest median student loan debt, ASU graduates had the highest median earnings in Arizona for 2017.

The median earnings in 2017 for students who graduated from ASU in 2012 was $50,475. NAU had a median of $47,034 and UA had a median of $49,879, according to the 2018 report.

 

This story was originally published at Chamber Business News.