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1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Transylvania vice president featured in report on the value proposition of college tuition

Transylvania Vice President for Enrollment and Student Life Holly Sheilley was recently featured by The Lane Report in its cover article on the value of a college education. Sheilley, along with higher education leaders from some of Kentucky’s public and private colleges, responded to a series of questions about what students attending college can expect as a return on their investment. According to The Lane Report, “For most prospective Kentucky college students today, affordability remains a top concern, but they are more willing to pay for postsecondary education if they know they will receive a high return on that investment. Namely, a job in their career field soon after they toss their mortar boards into the sky on graduation day.” At Transylvania, that success rate – placement in a job or graduate school – is 95% within six months of graduation. The Q&A below is excerpted from original article. To read the full article, visit The Lane Report online. Are today’s students more “transactional” in their choice of postsecondary education institutions, prioritizing acquisition of marketable skills in exchange for their tuition dollars? Holly Sheilley: Absolutely. In today’s digital environment, information is more transparent and readily available for prospective students than ever before. This access empowers students to handpick institutions that are most likely to help them develop marketable skills and deliver post-graduation success. For example, at Transylvania, we have an abundance of interest in pre-health and pre-law, primarily because of

Transylvania climbs 11 spots in U.S. News & World Report national ranking

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University moved up 11 places this year in the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings released today. The university rated 76th among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges. Transylvania also placed 60th in the list of Best Value Colleges, which is based on factors such as price, quality of the program, average discount and number of students receiving need-based scholarships. “If you look at the criteria that U.S. News & World Report uses to rank colleges, Transylvania performs very well across the board,” said Rhyan Conyers, the university’s vice president of institutional effectiveness. “We are recognized as an affordable institution with an excellent reputation.” When ranking Transylvania, U.S. News considered the university’s small class sizes—78 percent have fewer than 20 students—and the fact that 95 percent of faculty have the highest degrees in their fields.  Other factors include Transylvania’s high 75-percent graduation rate, student selectivity and retention, the amount spent on instruction and other student services, and alumni giving rate.  Transylvania, in the heart of downtown Lexington, is one of only nine schools in the U.S. News top-100 liberal arts colleges in a city with a population of more than 300,000.  The U.S. News ranking comes on the heels of Transylvania’s inclusion in Princeton Review’s “The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition,” which recognized the school in specific categories such as Colleges That Pay You Back—showcasing affordability and career outcomes for graduates—and in College City Gets High Marks, for the

Princeton Review lists Transylvania among nation’s top schools

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The Princeton Review has once again included Transylvania University in a book featuring the top 15 percent of the nation’s colleges. “The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition,” which came out today, highlights Transylvania for its value, quality of education, location and how it prepares students for success after graduation. “We picked the 384 ‘best’ colleges for our book primarily for their outstanding academics; we highly recommend each one,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief and the book’s lead author. “However, we know applicants need far more than an academic rating or ranking to find the college that will be best for them.” In the section on Transylvania, many students pointed out how well the university prepares them for postgraduate studies. In fact, graduates have a 96 percent acceptance rate to medical school and a 100 percent acceptance rate to law school. In addition to the overall list of 384 schools, which is alphabetical as opposed to a ranking, the Princeton Review spotlights how colleges excel in specific areas. Additionally, the university’s inclusion in this year’s Colleges That Pay You Back category showcases not only its affordability, but also career outcomes for graduates. Transylvania is a top-20 school in the College City Gets High Marks category. Being in Lexington gives Transylvania students a variety of opportunities, including “widely available” internships, according to the Princeton Review. Students also noted the benefits of living so close to downtown, including “a ton of

Princeton Review puts Transy in top 7 percent of colleges for Bang for Your Buck

Transylvania University has been named in The Princeton Review’s 2018 edition of “Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck.”  Transylvania has long aimed to keep its tuition and fees competitive with the top colleges in the nation—currently it costs almost $10,000 less than the average top-100 private liberal arts college. Students graduate with 15 percent less debt than the average private school borrower. This annual guidebook, now in its fourth year, is the education services company’s resource for college-bound students and their parents shopping for affordable, academically outstanding colleges that graduate their students to successful, rewarding careers. The full lists, profiles and information on the project methodology are accessible at www.princetonreview.com/colleges-pay-you-back. The Princeton Review chose the 200 schools for this edition based on a comprehensive analysis of data from its surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges in 2016-17. Survey topics broadly covered academics, cost, financial aid, career services, graduation rates, student debt and alumni support. The company also factored in data from PayScale.com surveys of alumni of the schools about their starting and mid-career salaries and job satisfaction. In all, more than 40+ data points were crunched to select the 200 schools for the book and tally its seven ranking lists. Only 7 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges made it into this book, noted Robert Franek, its lead author and The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. These schools were bona fide standouts

Kiplinger ranks Transylvania among country’s top values

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kiplinger’s Personal Finance today once again named Transylvania University as one of the nation’s Best College Values. The magazine’s ranking recognizes schools for both academic quality and affordability, specifically measuring factors such as four-year graduation rate, total cost and financial aid. “I think families are surprised when they hear how affordable a Transylvania education is—even compared to the cost of a public university,” said Holly Sheilley, vice president for enrollment and student life. “Our students, who come from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, are prepared to pursue higher degrees or start great careers after they graduate without being overburdened with debt.” In fact, student loan debt is lower at Transylvania than at the average state public university. Also, the typical financial aid package for incoming students was $26,643 last year, and 98 percent of students received gift-aid they didn’t have to pay back. These savings are on top of the fact Transylvania costs about $10,000 less than the average top-100 liberal arts college. In addition to today’s Kiplinger ranking, Transylvania has earned many similar recognitions for providing a quality education at an affordable price. For example, the university made the nation’s top 10 in the USA Today/College Factual’s Best Colleges for the Money. Transylvania also recently was named one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Value Schools among liberal arts universities and Money’s Best Colleges for Your Money. Kiplinger ranks Transylvania 104th among all colleges and 54th among liberal