Mercer Featured Among Princeton Review’s ‘Colleges That Pay You Back’

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University Ranked No. 11 'School for Making an Impact' 

MACON – Mercer University is one of the nation's best higher education institutions for students seeking a superb education with great career preparation at an affordable price, according to the Princeton Review's latest publication, which was released today.

The education services company features Mercer in the 2016 edition of Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck. School profiles that appear in the book are also posted online at www.princetonreview.com/colleges-pay-you-back.

The Princeton Review chose the 200 featured schools based on return on investment ratings for 650 institutions last year. The ratings weighted 40 data points that covered everything from academics, cost and financial aid to graduation rates, student debt, alumni salaries and job satisfaction. Data was collected from Princeton Review's surveys of administrators and students in 2014-2015, as well as PayScale.com's surveys of alumni conducted through April 2015.

Mercer was also included in one of the book's seven ranking lists, “The Top 25 Best Schools for Making an Impact.” The University was ranked No. 11 based on student ratings and responses to survey questions covering community service opportunities, student government, sustainability efforts and on-campus student engagement. The ranking list also took into account PayScale.com's percentage of alumni from each school that reported having high job meaning.

“We highly recommend Mercer University, and all of our Colleges That Pay You Back schools. They stand out not only for their outstanding academics but also for their affordability via comparatively low sticker prices and/or generous financial aid to students with need – or both,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review's senior vice president/publisher and lead author of the book. “Students at these colleges also have access to extraordinary career services programs from their freshman year on, plus a lifetime of alumni connections and post-grad support.”

In the book's profile of Mercer, Princeton Review editors and student surveys praise the University for its generosity with scholarship money and its facilitation of post-graduate opportunities through faculty, staff and alumni. “Mercer is incredible at engaging their students and provides one-on-one attention necessary to provide students with internships and post-graduate opportunities that will continue to aid in their success,” one student said.

Mercer is given an exceptional ROI rating of 88, and the University's profile also cites PayScale.com figures reporting graduates with at least a bachelor's degree have a median starting salary of $47,100 and median mid-career salary of $70,100.

The Princeton Review is also known for its school profiles and rankings in its annual books, The Best 380 Colleges, published in August, and The Best 295 Business Schools and The Best 167 Law Schools, published in October. The company also releases its Guide to Green Colleges, a free downloadable e-book published each April.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors, online resources and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The Princeton Review is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, and is an operating business of Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH). For more information, visit www.princetonreview.com. Follow the company on Twitter @theprincetonrev.